Waiting for Your Call
by Yukishiro Madoka
Summary: He promised her he'd come back so they'd be reunited. Now, five years later, he comes back, but he has a new girlfriend and seems to have moved on. When he meets an ill girl he feels to have a connection with, he realizes that fate is a fickle thing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts!

A/N. I was really disappointed with my other Namine/Roxas story **When You Walked Away **because I thought it was rather cliche and boring. Not to mention that it didn't have a lot of reviews. T.T;;

Anyways, I started this one, using the same concept (the whole "promise" thing) but the setting and plot will be more different. I dedicate this story to my friends, **haruka-chan87** and **Emily. **I hope this will make you happy, guys! (: Oh, yeah, and please review! x)

**xXxXxXx**

_"I hear you're moving. Where are you going?" the girl asked sadly. _

_"I'm going to Twilight Town," the boy answered, looking away. "It takes like eight hours to get there." _

_"That far...?" Tears started to fill the girl's aquamarine eyes and she sniffled, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. _

_He blinked, shocked at the sight of her tears. "H-hey, wait!" he cried out awkwardly. "I'm sorry...I don't want to leave, either...! Don't cry!"_

_"N-no, it's okay...it's not your fault. I'm just sad that...I'm going to lose my only and best friend." _

_"Don't say that! I can't be your only friend! Anyway, you're not going to lose me! Even though I'll be miles and miles away, I'll still be with you! And I won't lose you, either, because you'll still be with me!" _

_The girl smiled through her tears and wiped her tear-strained cheeks. _

_"Yes...you're right." _

_And saying so, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. _

_"Wh-wha?" Flustered, the boy stared down at the top of the girl's head, blushing furiously. _

_"I just want to tell you," the girl whispered softly, her face buried into his shoulder, "that you're the best friend I ever had...and I'm so happy I met you." _

_He could feel fresh tears sinking into the thin sleeve of his shirt. His eyes widened slightly in startlement. _

_"You make it sound like it's goodbye forever! Don't worry - I think we're going to come back in a couple of years! I'm only _temporarily _moving away. That's what Dad said, anyway...so I'll come back and we can be together again!" _

_She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him hopefully. "How many years?" she asked softly. _

_"I dunno...maybe five?" _

_The way she was so quiet you would have thought that he had just told her that he was the target of a famous assassin. It wasn't exactly an exaggeration, either. _

_"So I'll see you in five years or so, right?" the boy said, beaming at her cheerfully. _

_At last she smiled, a twinkle in her deep blue eyes. _

_"Yes." _

_She let go of him to reach into the pocket of her sweater and pull out a star-shaped keychain. The star's borders were a pretty, light lavender color, and the rest of the star was as white as snow. Two dots resembling eyes and a curved line representing a smile lay in the center of the star, beaming at him happily. _

_"Here. I want you to have this." _

_"What is it?" _

_"It's my lucky charm. Remember when we went to that little shop near school last month? That was before I knew you were going...but anyway, I thought it was so cute and I bought it. But last week, I found out that you were going...so I decided to give this to you. This way, you'll have something to remember me by."_

_"Neat!" the boy exclaimed happily, eagerly accepting the gift and putting it in his pocket. "Oh, I have something for you, too!" he said, pulling out a beautiful seashell. Streaks of white and brown scattered all over it, and there was a large, deep gap on the back of the shell. The girl sucked in her breath in awe._

_"It's so pretty...! I couldn't possibly take it!" _

_"It's a one of a kind. It belonged to my great great great...uh...really great grandmother, and it was passed down to my mom. But...since she's gone, I think it's okay to give it to you." _

_"Th-thank you..." With shaking hands the girl accepted the shell, carrying it as if it were made of glass._

_"If you put it next to your ear, you can hear the ocean waves! It's really awesome." _

_The girl tried it out for herself, and her eyes widened. _

_"Wow! I can hear the waves! It sounds so pretty!" _

_"Yeah, I know." _

_"Thank you. I'll treasure it forever!" the girl promised, smiling. "I'll be sure to think of you whenever I listen to this shell." _

_From nearby, the boy heard his father call, "Roxas! We have to leave now!" _

_"Okay, Dad!" he yelled back. He looked back at the girl, whose smile had turned into an even more sadder one, and smiled weakly. "So...I guess this is goodbye, then, right?" _

_She nodded, crestfallen. "Y-yeah..." she whispered sadly, hanging her head slightly and clutching her hands at her chest. _

_"One last hug?" he said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say to comfort her. _

_"Okay." _

_They hugged for a while before she pulled away first, smiling at him sorrowfully. _

_"Goodbye, Roxas. Don't forget me, okay?" _

_"Don't worry! I'd never forget you! The question is, are YOU going to forget me?" he joked. _

_"I'll remember you, I promise. If I start to forget you, I'll listen to this shell, and I'll remember you. Promise me you won't forget me, okay?" _

_"I promise! I'll look at this keychain and remember the nice, sweet girl who gave it to me!" _

_She laughed. He liked the way she laughed, a soft, twinkly sound like a bell. _

_"That's good. I...I couldn't bear the thought of you forgetting me." _

_"Roxas?!" his father called again. _

_"Coming!" _

_Roxas turned his back on the girl reluctantly and walked straight to his dad and stepmother, who were waiting beside the car. _

_"Are you okay, honey?" his stepmother asked, laying her hand on his head. _

_Usually, he ducked away when she did this, but this time, he felt like he needed the comforting gesture. _

_"Yeah...I'll be fine."_

_The car started and Roxas rolled down the window to stick his head out and look back at the girl, who was smiling and waving at him, tears running down her face. _

_**Hey...are you crying? Don't cry! I'll come back to you...I promise. **_

**xXxXxXxXx**

_**RING! RING! RING! **_

"What the..." came the grumble from the blonde boy as he picked up the cell phone from the table beside his bed and looked at the number displayed on the screen. He sighed heavily before holding the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he yawned tiredly.

"Roxas! Where are you? You were supposed to meet me at the cafe downtown, remember? Did you oversleep?!"

He yawned again. "What time is it, Olette?" he asked lazily, rubbing his eyes.

"You were supposed to meet me, like..." There was a pause as she, no doubt, looked at her watch. "Half an hour ago!"

"Oh..."

"Don't give me that _oh, _Roxas!" the girl sighed heavily. "Roxas, I'm your _girlfriend_, remember? You can't just do things like this to me! It's okay if you do this _once in a while_, but when you do it daily...!" Olette was obviously in a very bad mood. Usually, she was sweet and kind, but if she scolded like _this_, that meant she was _really _pissed.

"Sorry," he sighed unhappily, stretching his neck to remove the cramps from it, "it's just that I've been feeling really weird lately..."

Olette sighed again. "Okay, okay...it's okay," she sighed yet again. "I'm only letting you off the hook because you're my boyfriend. And sorry for yelling...it's just that it's really irritating when - "

"Yeah, yeah," Roxas mumbled. "I'll meet you there in five minutes, okay?"

"Okay. Just make sure you eat some breakfast first, we're only going to go to the cafe for coffee - "

"Yes, Mommy."

Roxas hung up and sighed, stretching his arms and groaning as he heard several _cracks_. He blinked, horrified as he realized what he had just done. He was never the type to be rude, but...

Roxas sighed and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. All the while, he was thinking about that dream he had.

_It was five years ago...so why is it still haunting me? _

**xXxXxXx**

"What will you have, Miss?"

"I'll just have coffee with dairy cream, please. Oh, and one of those lattes that just came out!"

"All right. What about you, sir?"

Silence.

"Sir?"

A sharp poke in his shoulder made him jump. "_Roxie..._he's talking to you!" she said, using the nickname that he hated very dearly. This nickname was only used when she was annoyed with him or wanted to tease him.

Roxas blinked several times, looking up at the waiter, who was staring back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, sorry...zoned out for a moment there. I'll just...uh...have what she's having."

"I'll be back in a jiffy," the waiter promised, leaving their table. Olette frowned and peered into Roxas' face, as if searching for something.

"What's up with you, Roxas? You seem down."

He sighed. "I've just been feeling weird lately," he admitted. "I keep having these weird dreams..."

"Aw, did poor Roxie have scary nightmares last night?" she teased, trying to get him to smile. Unfortunately, he just looked at her irritatedly.

"It's _not _a nightmare!" he said, more loudly than he meant to. Olette blinked, taken back by his sharp tone, before turning away. He shook his head and sighed. "Sorry, Olette...I don't know what's gotten into me. And sorry for being so rude before...I was a bit crabby because of that dream."

"It's okay." Olette smiled. "Listen, after this, we have to go to the hospital, okay?"

"_Hospital? _Why?" Roxas was alarmed.

"You don't know?" Olette asked confusedly.

"No."

"Hayner was in an accident just yesterday!"

"What?! He did?!?" Roxas was shocked. Hayner was a close friends of theirs, a blonde outgoing guy with blue eyes. "Is he okay?!"

"Yeah, I think so...well, I'm not sure. That's why I want to check on him. I'm _so _worried..."

Olette looked so distressed that Roxas sighed and patted her on the hand, which she had been keeping flat on the table.

"It'll be okay, Olette." _I hope..._

**xXxXxXx**

"U-um...I want to visit Sawatari Hayner...Can you tell me what room he's in?"

The nurse blinked and looked at both of them intently, first at Olette, then at Roxas, then back at Olette. The nurse's name tag read _**Yuna. **_She had short, brown hair and one eye was blue and the other was green. Even though her eyes made her look peculiar, Roxas thought she looked rather friendly.

"Are you both relatives of his?"

"No...we're friends of his."

"Do you have an appointment with him?"

"Yes. My name is Kamiya Olette. I called yesterday to - "

"Oh, yes, Miss Kamiya!" the nurse broke out into a smile as she looked down at her clipboard. "He's in Room 199."

Olette thanked the nurse gratefully before urging Roxas with a _hurry-up _look and dashing off to Room 199. Roxas was trying his best to keep up with Olette. Olette reached the room first and rushed in.

"Hayner!" he heard her call. Roxas hurried in to find Hayner lying on a bed, a white cast on his right leg.

"Hayner!" he gasped. "Are-are you -"

"Don't worry, dudes!" Hayner grinned weakly. "I'm fine - just a bit hungry, but yeah, I'm fine!"

Despite looking a bit skinner and paler, Hayner looked fine. Happiness surged through Roxas' chest as he smiled, relieved. Olette looked as if she were about to cry.

"Oh, Hayner...I was so worried!" she exclaimed, seemingly trying to resist the urge to hug her friend. "To think that you were all alone in here, or worse, dead...!"

"It's okay, Olette! I'm fine! I had a bit of company, too!" Hayner jerked his head towards the direction of the bed near him. Roxas finally noticed that there was a small girl in the bed, bending over a sketchbook. "She can't talk that much, but we played games like tick-tac-toe! She always won, though."

Roxas stared at the girl hard. Her blonde bangs covered her eyes as she leaned over her sketchbook, her pale hand moving gracefully as she drew silently in it. _I feel like I know her from somewhere...Wait, what am I thinking? There's a lot of blonde girls around here...Must be my imagination..._

"Her name's Naminé. Hey, Naminé! Say hi to my pals!"

Naminé finally looked up. Roxas suddenly felt a bit sick and queasy as he gazed at her face. She seemed so pale and tired, as if she were really ill.

"This is Olette," Hayner pointed to Olette, "and that's Roxas," he pointed to Roxas.

Naminé smiled weakly. "Hi..." she said softly. Even her voice was quiet and tired, Roxas thought.

Suddenly, her face twisted up, as if she were in great pain. She started to cough uncontrollably in her hands as the three friends watched in alarm and startlement.

"Wh-whoa! Are you okay?!" Roxas rushed over to the girl.

"N-no...s-stay away..." she choked.

"Wha - " Roxas was shocked.

She whirled her head at him and gave him a look so dark and cold that it made shivers run down his spine.

"_Stay away_!" It seemed as if she were trying hard to yell at him forcefully enough to make him go away but softly enough as to not pain herself any further.

Roxas backed away very quickly, gulping.

"H-Hayner...we'll see you later, okay? C'mon, Olette - " Roxas ushered the startled Olette outside. He walked quickly down the hallway, his heart sinking. What had been that look in her eyes? No, it wasn't anger - it was something much more than that. Sadness? Perhaps...but why had she told him to stay away? All he wanted was to help her. He couldn't help feeling very offended and angry.

"R-Roxas! W-wait - you're going too fast!" Olette panted.

"Oh, sorry." Roxas didn't slow down much, though.

"What's wrong with you?" Olette demanded angrily. "I mean, I know what she said to you was really mean and rude, but - "

"I'm _not _mad, Olette!" he snapped. Olette looked shocked at first by his tone, then angry as well.

"See? You say you're not mad, but look - you're snapping at me right now! Roxas, there's no reason to be mad, okay?! You know I hate to see you upset...!"

Roxas stopped and glanced at Olette, whose eyes were slightly watering. His anger swirled away as he looked into that crestfallen face, feeling a bit guilty for making his girlfriend so concerned about him.

"Olette..."

"Roxas, I love you, all right??" Olette cried out, clearly frustrated. "When I see you angry or sad and I can't do anything about it, I feel so helpless...!" Olette's shaky voice trailed off.

Roxas' eyes softened as he gazed at his crying girlfriend. He put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, hugging her tightly.

"Olette...I'm sorry."

"Roxas..." Olette lay her head on his shoulder. "I...I love you...very, _very _much...s-so...if just remember that I'll be there if you need me, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Olette. I...I care about you, too, so you can expect me to do the same."

"I know."

Roxas heard giggles and whispers from nearby, and he flushed when he realized that a few nurses were staring at them and cooing behind their hands. He quickly let go of Olette and grinned awkwardly at her.

"Uh, Olette, let's go for some ice cream. My treat, okay?"

"Sea salt ice cream?" Olette smiled, wiping her eyes.

He smiled, too. "What else?"

**xXxXxXx**

"Mmmmm!" Olette sighed happily, licking the popsicle eagerly. "This stuff is so good...! I don't think I'll ever get tired of it!"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Hey, look over there!" Olette pointed to a store that seemed to be selling interesting-looking merchandise. "That looks like a cute shop! Let's go in, Roxas!"

"Uh, okay..."

They quickly finished their ice cream, tossed the sticks away, and went in the shop. Olette gasped in delight as she gazed around excitedly.

"Wow...! This place is so cute! Don't you think so, Roxas?!"

"Yeah. Neat," he responded, looking around and surveying the section that was filled with keychains. His eyes fell upon a familiar star-shaped object -

_"Here. I want you to have this." _

_"What is it?" _

_"It's my lucky charm. It'll bring you good luck. This way, you'll have something to remember me by."_

" -xas?"

Roxas blinked several times, startled by the sight of a hand waving itself frantically in front of his face.

"Roxas?"

Roxas glanced at Olette, puzzled.

"Huh?"

"You kinda zoned out for a minute there..." Olette said, her tone clearly stating that she was both concerned and irritated about his behavior.

"Oh, I did...? Oh, yeah - right..."

Olette followed his gaze to the keychain. She raised an eyebrow, as if surprised that Roxas had been interested in such a thing.

"Do you want that?" she asked him curiously.

"N-no...I have one at home already...except I kinda stuffed it away somewhere..."

Olette gave him a suspicious look before she turned away and studied a teddy bear that was fifty percent off its usual price. Roxas looked back at the star-shaped keychain. _Why...why can't I remember her? _he thought, frustrated. _She gave the keychain to me for that very reason - for me to remember her...but I forgot all about her. Some friend I am, _he thought miserably.

"Okay, Roxas - let's go!"

"Huh?" Roxas looked at Olette, who was dangling two bags from her right wrist. She placed her other hand on her hip, pursing her lips.

"Roxas, _what _is up with you?" Olette said irritatedly. "I think those nightmares are making you restless. You should go home and take a nap."

He yawned instinctively, and she smiled, as if that had just proved her point.

"I'll take a cab home." Olette quickly kissed him on the cheek. "Get some sleep, okay, Roxie-kun?"

He blushed a bit at the sudden sign of affection from his girlfriend and mumbled a "bye" as he watched Olette leave the shop gracefully, her skirt billowing behind her. A sudden giggle brought him out of his trance, and he glanced over at the counter, where a young woman stood, smiling at him, her emerald green eyes sparkling. Her name tag read _**Aerith. **_

"You sure have a cute girlfriend!" she commented.

"Uh...th-thanks..." Roxas blushed even more.

"Is she your first love?" she asked curiously.

Roxas smiled distantly. "My first love...?" he repeated softly, more to himself than Aerith.

_"Roxas, I love you." _

_"Whaa?!" He was taken back by the blunt way she said it. "Y-you...you mean like a brother, right?" _

_"Hmm...Mommy says I'm too young for love, but I love you, anyway. Do _you_ love me?"_

_"I-I - " he stammered, feeling his face heat up. _

_"Do you love me, Roxas?" she repeated, looking at him hopefully, her eyes full of love. _

_"...Yeah. Of course I do." _

**xXxXxXx**

"No..." Instantly, Roxas felt like he had just betrayed Olette. But he was just telling the truth. Whether or not he had been too young for love, or his love had been merely a crush or "little sister" or "friend" love, he knew very well that he had loved that girl.

"Oh? Who was your first love, then?"

Roxas swallowed. He couldn't very well say "I don't remember." She'd certainly think badly of him. And who wouldn't? A person who claimed he loved someone and forgot all about her would surely be a fool in everyone's eyes.

"Let's just say...she and I were seperated."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Aerith gave him a look full of sympathy.

"Don't worry. I'm okay now...happy with my girlfriend. I think she's happy now, too, with her own boyfriend."

Aerith gazed at him with a strange look on her face.

"Yes. Perhaps...perhaps you are right," she smiled finally. "We are alike, you know. We both lost our first love, but we have moved on with a new one. My...my first love died a long time ago in a car accident."

"...I'm sorry." Roxas felt awkward.

"It's all right. Anyway, I met my second love shortly after. He was my first love's best friend. He was rather distant and cold, and he had trouble with his emotions. But...I couldn't help falling for him. He finally opened up to me after several months. I was so happy when he proposed to me just after we graduated from college. But...he suddenly left ."

"What?? Why?"

Aerith smiled sadly. "I don't know...He just left unexpectly. I think perhaps he was unhappy with me."

The sadness in Aerith's eyes made Roxas' heart ache. For some reason, he could feel no anger towards the man who made this girl heartbroken. In fact, he somewhat understood. The man had trouble with his emotions...What if it had been hard for him to leave her, much less say goodbye? Roxas couldn't relate to him because he didn't keep his emotions locked up, but he could understand that even though the man didn't speak about leaving to her, he was reluctant to leave.

"No...I don't think so," he found himself saying. Aerith looked at him, surprised. "I think maybe it was something important he had to do...and he didn't want to say goodbye...because he knew that it'd hurt you."

Aerith's eyes widened at his words, but then she smiled.

"Thank you."

Roxas smiled.

_**But...even though goodbye is hard to say...I believe you should still say it. That goodbye will surely secure your chain of memories with the one you love. **_

**xXxXxXx**

"Aha! I found it!" Roxas said to himself, smiling triumphantly. For the past fifteen minutes, he had been searching for the star-shaped keychain that his childhood friend had given him. He finally found it, under a stash of papers that he kept in a drawer beside his bed. The smiley face on the star grinned at him happily.

He yawned. Searching for the keychain had been hard work. It was tiring running around his room and getting down on his knees and getting back up and...yeah, you got the point.

He flopped onto his bed and shut his eyes, eventually drifitng off to sleep, with the keychain still in his hand...

_"Goodbye, Roxas. Don't forget me, okay?" _

_"Don't worry! I'd never forget you! The question is, are YOU going to forget me?" _

_"I'll remember you, I promise. If I start to forget you, I'll listen to this shell, and I'll remember you. Promise me you won't forget me, okay?" _

_"I promise! I'll look at this keychain and remember the nice, sweet girl who gave it to me!" _

_"That's good. I...I couldn't bear the thought of you forgetting me." _

"No...I'd never forget you..." he unconsciously spoke, tightening his hold on the keychain. "I'll...always remember you...always..."

**xXxXxXx**

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Yuna."

The nurse looked at the blonde girl with a hint of admiration. "It must be tough for you," she commented. "I don't know how you're able to keep such an upbeat attitude even with this illness of yours."

"I...I just got used to it, that's all," the girl said modestly. "Anyway...I guess I'm able to keep such an upbeat attitude because...of someone."

"Your special someone?" Yuna smiled.

"Yes."

"That's so sweet." Yuna glanced at the clipboard in her hand. "I wish I could stay and chat more with you," she said regretfully, "but I have to see to another patient. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. It wouldn't be fair to keep you all to myself, would it?" the girl smiled.

"I wouldn't mind, though! You're such an interesting person to talk to!" Yuna laughed. "Anyway, I have to go now. If you need me, call me. Bye, Naminé."

"Bye, Yuna."

Naminé watched as Yuna left the room. She then sighed softly and turned to the window, her hands cupped around a small object. After staring out the window for a few seconds, she held up the object - a shell - to her ear and listened to the ocean waves whispering from within.

**xXxXxXx**

A/N. Yeah...I know the first chapter is a bit confusing, but it will make more sense later on. And there's a reason why Namie-chan was being so...ah, _rude _to Roxas. o-o You shall find out later on, ne? (: 

I can't stress this enough - _please review! _T.T I know that people don't like it when authors ask for reviews, but really...wouldn't you feel discouraged if your story didn't get the number of reviews you wanted? x.x;; Anyway, please enjoy the story and review. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

A/N. Yay, I happened to update in less than a month! (: Isn't that a miracle? x.x;; Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I luff you guys. 3

**xXxXxXx**

_**+ ---- The Next Day ----+**_

"Finally...I thought the day'd never end...!" Roxas sighed gratefully as the bell rang. He filed out with the other students and exited the school building. On his way out the courtyard, something solid yet soft collided with his back and arms latched around his neck, tightening their hold around the top of his chest.

"Roxas!" someone squealed loudly, and very warm breath stung his sensitive ear.

"Gyah!" he yelped, jumping slightly. He turned to find Olette, giggling in his ear. "H-hey...don't go around giving me a heart attack like that!" he scolded, trying to fight back a smile.

"Sorry. I couldn't help it." Olette let go of him. "Roxie, you're so cute when you're like that!"

Roxas turned red.

"Let's go to the hospital again, okay?" Olette went on happily, not noticing his blush. "I made something for Hayner...I think he'll like it."

"Okay."

The couple started walking down the sidewalk. Suddenly, Olette gasped and started to coo.

"Awwwww...what a cute kitty!"

Roxas glanced at the cat that she was gazing at, and it made him remember...

_"Look, Roxas...isn't that such a cute cat?" the little blonde girl smiled as she gazed at a cat that was sleeping on the grass. She ran up to it and reached out her hand to touch it - _

_"H-hey, don't do that! It might- " _

_The shrill hiss of the cat, who was awakened by the girl's touch, rang in the air, followed by her cry of pain. The cat leapt away and disappeared under a car. _

_"Oh, no! Are you okay?" he gasped, staring in horror at the thin, long wound on her arm. _

_To his surprise, she didn't start bawling or crying about how painful it was. She just smiled weakly at him and said, "I'm okay. It's just a cut, no big deal." _

_"B-but..." he sputtered. _

_"Don't worry, I'm okay. Anyway, I guess that's what I get for butting in on that poor kitty's naptime." _

_He stared at her in amazement. That was one of the things that he liked about her. She always accepted the things that resulted from what she chose to do. _

_"Hey, were you worried about me?" she smiled at him. "You're so sweet, Roxas!" _

_He gulped. "Uh, I - I ..." _

"Roxas?"

He snapped out of his trance. "Huh?"

"Don't you think he's cute?" Olette asked impatiently.

Roxas looked at the cat again. "Uh, yeah, adorable," he said blankly.

"I know!" Olette went on, not noticing the unenthusiasm in his voice. "But he already has a collar, so he belongs to somebody. I wish I could keep him!"

Olette sighed, but went on her way to the hospital, with Roxas following close behind.

**xXxXxXx**

"Wow, I feel special! Visiting me two days in a row, eh, guys?" Hayner whispered as soon as they entered. Immediately, Roxas saw why he was whispering. The blonde girl was fast asleep. For the moment, he paid little attention to her. He was still annoyed about yesterday, but he vowed not to let it ruin his mood.

"Why _wouldn't _we visit you for two days in a row - or more?" Olette asked, chuckling at her own joke. "Here, Hayner! I made something for you!" Olette handed him her gift.

"Wow! A crossword puzzle! Thanks, Olette!" Hayner loved crossword puzzles.

"I was sure to make them extra hard. That way, you'll have something to do and you won't be bored."

"Thanks, Olette! I really appreciate it." Hayner turned to Roxas. "So, where's my present, Roxas?" he asked teasingly.

"What??"

"Just kidding!" Hayner laughed. "Well, not really. _She _got me something, so why didn't _you? _You're so inconsiderate, dude!"

"H-hey - " Roxas was flustered.

"Just kidding!" This time, both Olette and Hayner laughed. Roxas tried to look annoyed, but he found himself laughing as well. These were the times he missed most, laughing with his friends. Olette and he went to the same school, but Hayner went to a different one. They had so much homework to do that they often didn't have enough time to hang out with each other after school.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a nurse came in, beaming happily. Her blonde hair was tied back into her ponytail, and her green eyes sparkled with life.

"Oh, Rikku!" Hayner spoke up happily. "These are my pals from school - Olette and Roxas."

"Pleeeease to meet you!" Rikku shook Olette's hand energetically, the golden bracelets on her wrists making a _ching ching _sound. Roxas felt an electrical jolt rush through his arm as she gripped his hand and shook it eagerly, just as she had shaken Olette's.

"Are you Hayner's nurse?" Roxas asked.

"Yep. I need to take him out into the garden for a walk. Poor guy, he's been cooped up in here for quite a while, so I figured that he needed fresh air." Rikku glanced in the direction of the blonde girl. "Oh, Namie's sleeping. Well, when she wakes up, remind me to ask Yunie to take her out for a walk, too, okay?"

"Sure!" Olette nodded. "Wait...who's Yunie?"

"Oh, sorry!" Rikku apologized sheepishly, getting Hayner into a wheelchair. "Her real name's Yuna, but I call her Yunie because, you know, Yunie sounds much cooler. I think I saw you talking to her the other day. Anyway, see you later!"

"Oh, wait - can we come along, too?" Olette asked hopefully.

"Sure. The more the merrier, right?" Rikku wheeled Hayner out the door. Olette followed her, but stopped when she realized that Roxas was still standing there.

"Roxas? You coming?" she asked curiously.

"No...I'll stay here...if that's okay." Roxas didn't know why, but he felt like staying. It was like an unknown force was forcing him not to go.

"Uhh...okay." Olette shrugged and left. The room was as quiet as a cemetery, and the only sounds were the chirping of birds from outside the open window. With a bored sigh, Roxas quietly walked over to where the blonde girl was and sat on the stool that was next to her bed. Silently, he watched her peaceful, tranquil face, feeling more at ease now that she was asleep.

_So her name's Namie, _Roxas thought. _Funny...it rings a bell, but I don't quite remember. _

He continued to watch her and flinched slightly when she twitched in her sleep. _She...looks so innocent. And...cute. _

Olette's face flashed into his mind, and Roxas immediately scolded himself for thinking that way. But still, even if you were dating someone, that didn't restrict you from thinking another person was cute or pretty, right?

She mumbled something in her sleep, and Roxas blinked, surprised. So she talked in her sleep, he thought.

"Ro...xas..." she murmured, twitching again.

Roxas blinked again. _Wait a minute...is it just me, or did she say my name? _

"...Roxas..."

_Okay, it's not me! _

He was so shocked that he gasped and jumped off his stool, knocking it to the ground. The girl's eyes flew open instantly at the sudden noise and she jumped, her blue eyes wide with alarm.

"Wha...?" she mumbled, looking up. Her eyes widened even more as she recognized him. "You...you're the boy from yesterday."

"Y-yeah..." Roxas felt foolish. He picked up the stool and set it properly on the ground. "Sorry for scaring you..." he said clumsily, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's all right," she smiled softly.

Roxas stared at her strangely. Yesterday, she had acted rather cold towards him. Why was she so polite and nice now?

The girl looked over at Hayner's empty bed. "Where's Hayner?" she asked.

"His nurse took him for a walk."

"Oh." The girl looked down at her clasped hands, fidgeting slightly. "Listen...Roxas, is it?"

_Have we met? _Roxas thought confusedly. But what he said was, "How do you know my name?"

"Hayner told me about you. He talked a lot about you and Olette."

"Oh." _Well, I guess that explains it. _Still, that didn't explain why she was saying _his _name in her sleep.

"Anyway...Roxas," the girl lifted her head and gazed into his eyes, "I want...I want to apologize for yesterday."

A sense of relief surged through Roxas' chest. So it _wasn't _his fault, after all. She didn't hate him for no reason! Roxas breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

"Uh...yeah," he said, trying to seem calm and casual.

"I...I didn't mean to yell at you like that. It was instinctive...I'm really sorry, I can tell I upset you very much..."

"Eh, don't worry about it!" Roxas said reassuringly, waving his hand dismissively. "So, Namie - "

"Namie?" she said, confused.

"Isn't that your name?"

"No!"

"It's not?" Roxas was puzzled. "But I heard Hayner's nurse - "

"Oh! Rikku, right?" she laughed softly, shaking her head. "It's a habit of hers to give nicknames to people. Namie's not my name."

"Oh..." Roxas blinked. Remembering that Rikku had called Yuna "Yunie," his eyes widened. "Oh!"

The girl giggled.

"So...what's your _real _name?" Roxas asked.

"My...my real name...?" the girl mumured quietly, looking distant and almost sad. "It's...Naminé."

"Naminé...?" Roxas repeated slowly, testing the name on his tongue. It sounded so familiar! _Na...mi...n_é "Ugh," he grunted, feeling a sharp pain rush through his head.

"What's wrong?" Naminé questioned, alarmed.

"Nothing...just felt something weird in my head. Anyway, how long have you stayed in this hospital?" Roxas asked curiously. Naminé was silent for such a long time that he thought that she didn't like the question. "Sorry...i-it's okay if you don't want to answer - I'm too nosy, aren't I?" Roxas sighed, deeply ashamed. "F-forget I said anything."

"No. I was just thinking...it's been a long time." Naminé shook her head. "I think...I've been here for about...five years."

"Five years?! That's really long! Are you really _that _ill?"

"...I suppose so." Roxas didn't like the hesitant way she said it.

"You'll get better, right?" Roxas said worriedly.

"...I don't know."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Roxas always disliked silence, especially when it was an awkward one.

"Do you have family?" he asked cautiously, in attempt to break the silence.

"No...my parents died a long time ago."

"But surely you have some relatives or friends who'll visit you, right?"

Naminé smiled remorsefully. "I wish..." she said sadly.

It took a while for Roxas to take this all in. Poor Naminé, he thought. Alone and ill...it was probably really hard for her.

"You must be very lonely," Roxas remarked softly.

"I've gotten used to it. Anyway, I'm not entirely alone now. I have Hayner, Yuna, Rikku, and a few others I speak to often."

"That's true, but what do you do when you're alone?"

"Usually, I draw, but mostly...I just think."

"About what?"

Naminé smiled. "Oh, a lot of things..." she said good-naturedly.

At that moment, Roxas heard footsteps enter the room.

"Oh, you're awake, Naminé?" he heard a familiar voice. Roxas turned to find Yuna, the nurse Olette had consulted for help the other day. "Oh," Yuna said, noticing Roxas. "You're the boy who was with Miss Kamiya, right? Are you a friend of Naminé's?"

"Uhh...we kinda just met."

"Oh? How nice." Yuna smiled. "Naminé, do you feel like going for a walk?"

"Yes! I could use some fresh air."

"Great! Come along, Naminé." Yuna smiled and waved goodbye to Roxas as she guided Naminé out of the room. Naminé turned and smiled at Roxas as well, waving silently at him before turning away and leaving with Yuna. Roxas watched as she left the room.

A few seconds later, Olette stepped into the room.

"Roxas, I'm back.''

"Oh! Welcome back!"

Olette gave him a very strange look. He didn't like the way she stared so silently at him.

"I saw that girl waving to you. Why was she so nice to you all of a sudden?" she asked suspiciously.

"Uh, I don't know. Anyway, she apologized to me, and, you know, we chatted while you and Hayner were gone."

"I see." Olette didn't smile. "Ready to go?"

"Now?"

"Yeah. I'm starving. Let's go for lunch, okay?"

"Uhh...okay. Should we go say bye to Hayner?"

"I already told him we were leaving," Olette said quietly, almost coldly. What was up with her? Roxas thought.

"Olette, are you mad?" he asked.

"No. Why would I be?" she answered quickly. Almost _too _quickly.

"I dunno...you just seem mad."

"Well, I'm _not_, okay? Come on, let's go get a bite to eat!" Olette grabbed his arm. "I'm starving!"

Her mood completely changed. That was weird, Roxas thought.

"Okay."

"So, Roxas..."

Olette was talking about the upcoming festival that was being held near their neighborhood, but Roxas was only half listening. He couldn't help thinking about Naminé. The poor girl. He didn't like seeing people with such misfortune. He wanted to do something for her to make her happy. But what...?

He sighed to himself. _Naminé..._

**xXxXxXx**

"So, Naminé, have you heard about the festival that's coming up?"

"Yes. Hayner told me about it. It sounds very exciting, but I...probably won't be able to attend it."

"Why not?" Yuna was puzzled.

"Well, for one, I'm not sure I'll be _allowed _to go...Sir Cid told me I wasn't allowed to anywhere else but the garden, remember?"

"Oh, for pete's sake! Uncle Cid sure is strict!" Yuna sighed. "Not that I can blame him...After what happened last time when Rikku took you out for lunch...but still! Listen, Naminé...you know I really l care about you, right?"

"I care about you, too, Yuna..." Naminé smiled.

"You're like my little sister," Yuna smiled back. "I want you to be happy, and I think you're really going to like the festival. I'm gonna ask Uncle Cid to make an exception this time, and if he says no, I'll get down on my knees and beg!"

"Oh, Yuna...! You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do! You need to get something out of life, Naminé, and being cooped up in your room all day _every day _- well, we _do _take you out for walks in the garden sometime, but that isn't the point - is _not _my image of fun."

"Yuna..."

"Don't worry your little head about it, Naminé. I promise I'll take you to the festival," Yuna said smoothly, patting the girl on the head. "Say," she said suddenly, " I think I remember that the custom of the festival was for you to bring someone of the opposite gender, and a blood-related relative doesn't count."

"What do you mean by that?" the blue-eyed girl said blankly.

"You _know _what I mean by that, Namie, dear," Yuna teased, making Naminé blush slightly.

"But...I'm not acquainted with any boy..." Naminé wrung her hands sheepishly.

"What about Hayner?"

"Um...I think...he wouldn't want to go with me."

"Why not? Any guy in their right mind would want to go with you!" Yuna teased.

"But...he told me he likes...another girl," the blue-eyed girl mumbled awkwardly.

"Oh. Right." Yuna acted as if she already knew that. "Um, what about that boy you were talking to before?"

A dim glimmer flickered in Naminé's aquamarine eyes.

"He...already has a girlfriend."

"Oh? That's too bad..." Yuna sighed, unaware of the distant look on the girl's face. "I'll try to find a boy for you to bring! Hm, what boys around your age do I know? There's Sora, but he's got the hots for some redhead, I think. There's Riku, but he's not really interested in girls, darnit - "

"It's okay, Yuna. It's only a tradition, not a requirement." Naminé still looked distant. "I suppose I'll be the only one without a partner, then, right...?"

Yuna looked at Naminé worriedly. "Naminé..."

"It's okay, though." Naminé smiled. "I'm sure to have a wonderful time there nonetheless."

**xXxXxXx**

"I had so much fun today, Roxas! Thanks so much!" Olette smiled that beautiful smile of hers, and Roxas found himself blushing.

"Uhh...no problem."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Roxie." Olette kissed him on the cheek and walked to her porch, turning and waving at him, before she turned back and went into her house. Roxas sighed and started walking to his house.

"Wow...they're beautiful!" he heard a girl say. He turned and saw a couple standing on the opposite side of the street. A boy his age had just given his girlfriend a bonquet of flowers, and she took them eagerly, inhaling in their sweet scent. "I love them!" she smiled. "Thank you, cutie!"

She then threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, to which Roxas quickly turned away awkwardly. He didn't want to seem nosy.

He suddenly had an idea. He quickened his pace.

He needed to pay the flower shop a visit.

**xXxXxXx**

"Welcome to our shop!" a female voice - a familiar female voice - called out as soon as he entered the shop, embraced by the smell of flowers. Roxas turned, startled, to find Aerith at the front desk.

"M-miss Aerith!"

"Oh - Roxas!" Aerith looked both surprised and pleased. "Are you here to buy flowers for someone?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Your girlfriend?" Aerith smiled.

"Mmm-hmm," he mumbled. "Hey, Miss Aerith - "

"Ah, ah, ah!" Aerith held up a finger, as if to scold him. "It's _Aerith. _There's no need for formality."

"Uh, yeah. _Aerith..._um, what kind of flowers are the best kind to give to ...girls?" This last part he said flushing slightly.

"Hm, well, it depends! What are you trying to convey?" Aerith asked curiously.

"Huh?"

"What are you trying to express to her?" Aerith clarified.

"Um, well..." Roxas thought long and hard. "Admiration."

"That's all? Don't you want something...well, _romantic?_" Aerith giggled softly, snifling her laugh behind her hand. "Something like roses? Roses represent true love, after all!"

Roxas flushed. "N-no..." he murmured, embarrassed. "Just admiration."

"Oh, okay. I think these will be perfect then!"

Aerith walked over to an aisle of flowers and Roxas followed her. She gestured to a row of light purple flowers, smiling at him. According to their tag, they were called lavenders and meant "admiration, solitude."

"You want them in a bonquet, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, for a bonquet of 10 flowers, it costs 100 munny. How does that sound?"

_100 munny? _Roxas moaned inwardly. _I only have 50 munny! And..._Roxas quickly did the math in his head. _If I buy five flowers for the amount of munny I have, that wouldn't be much of a bonquet then, would it? Darn it, I knew I shouldn't have bought that rather expensive pie at that cafe..._

"Well? What do you think?" Aerith waited.

"They're..._perfect. _But..." Roxas sighed, jamming his hands in his pocket.

"I'll tell you what." Aerith recognized the look of someone who didn't have enough money. "I'll cut the price for you...say, by half the price!"

"Oh - _would _you?!" Roxas could feel hope and relief surging through his chest.

"Of course. Do you still want it?"

"I want it!" Roxa nodded his head like a rag doll.

Aerith laughed. "Okay, then."

Roxas paid for his order at the counter and Aerith handed the bonquet to him.

"Thank you very much."

"No, thank _you_." Roxas smiled. "Oh, by the way, Miss - erm, I mean, _Aerith..._I thought you worked at that shop down the street?"

"Oh, yes, I do. I work part time there, but I own this shop."

"Really? That's neat."

"Yes. Welcome to our shop!" Aerith called to the man who entered the shop.

"So, I guess I'll be leaving now, then. Bye, Aerith, and thanks again!"

"Bye, Roxas." Aerith waved after him.

She was a nice lady, he thought, walking out of the shop. But then something was bothering him. Aerith seemed like an expert at romanctic things and flowers, so why did she suggest lavenders, which meant "solitude," if she thought that he was buying flowers for Olette?

"Ooof - sorry!" He had been so busy thinking that he bumped into someone's shoulder. He looked up -

"Sora!"

His cousin, who seemed to look more like his brother, grinned at him.

"Hey, Roxas! What are you doing here - " Sora's eyes fell upon the bonquet in his hand - "with a bonquet?"

Roxas blushed at the suggestive grin on his face. "Wh-whatever, Sora," he mumbled. "They're for - "

" - Olette?"

"Mm-hmm." Roxas nodded absent-mindedly.

"Well, aren't you the lady's man!" Sora joked.

"B-be quiet.What are _you _doing here?" Roxas said, trying to change the subject.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sora jerked his head towards the bags that dangled from his arms, which seemed to be carrying groceries. "Mom told me to buy stuff for dinner. Hey, by the way, are you going to the festival?"

"Uh, probably. You?"

"Uhhh...maybe."

Roxas grinned. "Are you going with _Kairi?" _he teased, referring to a crimson-haired girl with blue eyes that Sora seemed to be interested in.

This time, it was Sora's turn to blush. "None of your business, Roxas," he mumbled.

"Revenge is sweet, dear cousin," Roxas smirked.

"Whatever..." Sora rolled his eyes, forcing back a grin.

"Anyway, got to go. Later." Roxas started to walk away.

"H-hey, wait, Roxas!" Sora called, to which Roxas turned around and gazed at him questioningly. "Isn't Olette's house _that _way?" Sora jerked his head towards the opposite direction.

"Uh, yeah."

Sora looked questioningly at Roxas before shaking his head.

"Never mind. See ya."

Roxas sighed inwardly. "Later."

**xXxXxXx**

"Oh - excuse me!" Roxas called, running up to two nurses who were talking to each other. They both turned around, and he realized that they were Yuna and Rikku.

"Oh - you again!" Yuna smiled. She glanced down at the bonquet of flowers in his arms with interest.

"I don't recall Hayner saying he liked recieving flowers," Rikku remarked.

"They're not for him." Roxas could feel his face heating up.

"Oh? Are you visiting someone else here?" Yuna asked curiously.

"Y-yeah. I scheduled an appointment to meet with Naminé."

"Those are for Namie? How sweet!" Rikku cooed. Yuna smiled and nodded in agreement.

"She'll like those. They're her favorite." Yuna gazed at the bonquet of lavender.

"Really? How coincidental! So I can go to her room now, right?"

"Of course! Go on!"

Roxas thanked them and went straight to Naminé's room. Hayner was fast asleep, but Naminé was awake and drawing in her sketchpad.

"Naminé!" he whispered loudly.

She looked up and gasped slightly. "R-Roxas! How nice to see you!" she smiled.

"Here! These are for you!" Roxas handed her the bonquet, smiling at the astonished expression on her face.

"R-really?" Naminé didn't take the bonquet, but she fingered the petals and inhaled deeply. "They're so beautiful and they smell so nice..."

"Yeah, they cost more than I could afford, but don't worry. The storekeeper was so nice that she cut the price for me."

"I couldn't possibly take it!" Naminé smiled shyly, wringing her hands.

"Of course you can!" Roxas shoved the bonquet in her arms and grinned. Naminé blushed.

"Th-thank you, Roxas." Namine took the bonquet and inhaled their sweet scent again. "Lavendars are my favorite flowers."

"Yeah, Yuna told me."

"Thank you again!"

"No problem.'' Roxas paused. "You know, Naminé, you're like this girl I used to know."

Naminé looked at him strangely. "Really?" she said softly, seemingly amused.

"Yeah. Whenever I gave her gifts, she would always say things _just _like that," Roxas smiled, his thoughts drifting away to his childhood memories.

"Oh." Namine was silent for a while. "Are you going to the festival tomorrow?" she asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"I don't know. I guess I'll go if my girlfriend asks me. She probably will, though. She loves festivals."

"Oh." Naminé set down the bonquet on the table beside her and began to draw in her sketchpad again.

"What about you?"

"Probably not..." the girl sighed unhappily.

"Why not?" Roxas was disappointed.

"Well, Yuna says she wants me to go, but I don't really feel like going..."

"How come?"

"Well, as much as I love Yuna, I feel...like it'd be more fun if I had someone my _own _age to go with." Naminé looked away. "You think I'm selfish, don't you?"

"Wh-why would I think that??" Roxas was alarmed.

"Yuna's done so much for me..._everyone's _done so much for me...but I'm so selfish...I keep wanting more." Naminé exhaled a deep sigh.

"That's not true!" Roxas protested, feeling the need to comfort her. "You're not selfish! I think it's natural for _anyone _to want more than what they have! It doesn't make you selfish! It just makes you...well, _human._"

"You think so...?" Naminé gazed at him hopefully.

"I don't think so - I _know _so!" Roxas also thought that someone who was ill and had been in the hospital for _five _years had the right to want more than what they had. He suddenly had an idea. "Hey, I have an idea...why don't you come with me and Olette? I'm sure Olette wouldn't mind."

"I couldn't," Naminé said flatly, in a tone that made him think of the day when she had snapped at him.

"Why not?" Roxas was puzzled.

"Well, you guys...are a couple. It'd be wrong for meto come along with you two."

"That's rubbish! Of course you can go!"

"Maybe _you _wouldn't mind. But..." Naminé hesitated. It was like a lightbulb suddenly clicked on in Roxas' mind. Of _course! _he thought. That was why Olette seemed so upset the other day. It was because...

"You're afraid Olette will get jealous, right?" Roxas said quietly. Naminé flushed, as if embarrassed, but nodded silently. Roxas sighed and thought for a while. It'd be fun to have her along, but he didn't know if it was worth having Olette getting the wrong idea.

"Well, don't worry, Naminé," he said finally. "I'll try to talk to her, okay?"

"...Okay." But Naminé didn't seem that pleased.

He tried to change the subject. "So, does the hospital let you go out anywhere?"

"Unfortunately, no. It'd be nice if I could go anywhere, but I can't." Naminé had a sad look on her face.

"That sucks." A weird idea suddenly popped into his head. "How high is it from here to the ground?"

"I don't know..."

Roxas leaned out the open window and gazed down. It didn't look that far, but he wasn't sure if he would be in one piece if he jumped out. He glanced at the tree that stood about a foot or so away from the window, and a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Hey, Naminé!"

"Yeah?"

"Keep your window slightly open tonight, okay?"

"Why?" Naminé was surprised. "You know, the hospital doesn't allow the windows to be open at night, even if it's hot. They're scared that, you know, some burglar might climb in through the window or something."

"Oh." Roxas was disappointed, but nonetheless, he was still determined. "Well, when the clock over there," he pointed, "says 8:00 P.M, leave your window open and you'll be in for a surprise, okay?"

"Roxas..." Naminé was doubtful.

"Don't worry, you can trust me."

Reassured by his warm smile, Naminé nodded, smiling as well.

"Okay."

**xXxXxXx**

"Sleep tight, Naminé," Yuna murmured softly as she turned on the fan and air-conditioning.

"Okay. Good night, Yuna." Naminé watched Yuna close the window and pull the shades aside. When Yuna left, Naminé glanced at the clock. 7:59.

5...4...3...2...1...

8:00.

Naminé quickly got up and opened the window a crack, glancing around frightfully, worried that Hayner or somebody would hear. But nothing happened. She jumped back into her bed and pretended to be asleep.

Was that rustling outside her window? Naminé couldn't help but be scared.

_Whooooosh..._

She could feel the wind rush over her as the window opened silently. Naminé glanced up and her eyes widened at the shadowy figure before her. She opened her mouth to scream, but -

"It's okay, Naminé, it's me!" the figure whispered.

Her eyes widened. "R-Roxas?'' she sputtered. What was _he _doing here?

"Who else?" By the bright gleam of the moonlight, she could see him smiling.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Naminé couldn't get over being shocked. He was basically trespassing!

"I'm gonna take you out, of course! C'mon, there's no time to waste!"

Was this guy nuts? Naminé thought, bewildered. Yet she couldn't help trusting him.

"Okay..." she said hesitantly. She quickly put her pillow under the covers so if anyone looked in the room, they would think she was asleep, draped under her covers.

"C'mon!" Roxas grinned. "Get onto my back!"

"Wh-wha?!" Naminé almost exclaimed.

"Shhh!"

They froze, watching as Hayner twitched, but did nothing more. They both sighed in relief.

"Just trust me, okay?" Roxas smiled. Naminé hesitantly got onto his back. _Wow, she's light, _Roxas thought. Naminé's skinny arms draped around his neck, clutching him tightly.

"You'll be scared at first, but don't scream, okay?'' Roxas crept out the window, balancing on the windowsill carefully. "Just hold on tight."

"What are you - _" _Naminé began, but she yelped as Roxas leapt over onto the tree. "R-Roxas!" Naminé felt like screaming, but she knew better than to do that.

"It's okay!" Roxas reassured her. He couldn't explain the excitement he felt within his chest as he slowly climbed down the tree. "It's okay."

**xXxXxXx**

"Wow! The city's so beautiful upclose!" Naminé couldn't remember the last time when she had been outside, gazing up at the buildings with their bright, flashing neon lights.

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Roxas smiled. "You hungry?"

"Somewhat," Naminé said truthfully.

"Okay. Name your favorite food."

"Taiyaki," Naminé smiled, unaware of what Roxas had in mind. "I love that stuff, but it's been years since I last ate it."

"Hey, I love that stuff, too!" Roxas was pleased. They had something in common. "I'm getting hungry for taiyaki."

"Really?" Naminé smiled as she followed Roxas into a small food store.

"Yup." Roxas went straight to the counter and pulled out his wallet.

"What would you like to have, sir?" the man at the counter asked politely.

"Taiyaki for two, please."

_Two?! _Naminé gawked at Roxas, who didn't seem to notice.

"Large, medium-sized, or small?"

"Large!" Roxas said.

"That'll be 450 munny, please."

Roxas handed the munny to the man, who smiled and said, "Your order will be ready in a few minutes."

"Thanks."

"Roxas, you didn't have to buy any for me!" Naminé protested. She felt guilty that Roxas had spent so much munny on her. Munny was hard to earn these days.

"It's no problem. Besides, you need a treat once in a while."

The order came quickly, and Roxas handed a bag to Naminé.

"Careful, it's hot," he warned.

"R-Roxas...I can't thank you enough..." Naminé said shakily, a grateful smile upon her lips.

"It's no big deal, I promise you. So where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere!"

"Okay, then. Let's go to one of my most favorite places."

**xXxXxXx**

"An ice cream shop?" Naminé said in half disbelief and half amused, staring up at the sign that hung over the entrance of the ice cream shop. According to the schedule, it was open 24 hours a day every day except Sunday.

"Yup!" Roxas grinned proudly. "And I'll introduce you to one of my most favorite things - sea salt ice cream!"

"What's that?" Naminé frowned, imagining an ice cream popsicle made out of ocean water.

"You'll see." Roxas went up to the counter and ordered two sea salt ice cream. He handed one to Naminé.

"Is it good?" Naminé gazed suspiciously at the popsicle, as if she thought some worm intended to poke its head out of it.

"If it wasn't, would I be eating it?" Roxas grinned, licking the popsicle with great enthusiasm.

"I guess you're right," Naminé smiled. She hesitantly stuck out her tongue and trailed it upon the popsicle. Her eyes widened. It was actually very good! It wasn't salty like she thought it would be. It was actually very sweet.

"Mmmm!" Naminé found herself sighing.

"Yeah, _mmm_. I told you so." Roxas chuckled.

Naminé smiled. _I...like the way he laughs. _"Why is it called sea salt ice cream when it's sweet?" she asked curiously, licking it again.

"Who knows? And who cares? As long as it tastes good, that's what counts."

Naminé thought for a bit. "True," she agreed jokingly, to which they both burst into laughter and walked out of the shop, licking their ice cream happily.

**xXxXxXx**

"Wow! What a huge mall!" Naminé gazed in awe at the building.

"Yeah. Let's go check it out!"

They both went in and walked around. Naminé's eyes lit up at the sight of cute plushies at a small store nearby. She headed straight for it and Roxas quickly followed.

"W-wow...Roxas, isn't this cute?" Naminé held up a dog-like plushie with fur as white as snow, a small, dark nose, floppy ears, and circular, ebony eyes. "It's called Pochacco," she read off the tag. Her face fell. "It's 225 munny. Oh, well. It's really cute, though."

She sadly put it back, but started walking around the store, touching and smiling at more plushies. But Roxas knew she had her heart set on the Pochacco. When she was in the back of the store, Roxas quickly took the Pochacco plushie and went to the counter to buy it. He ran out of the store out of sight, and walked into the store, looking as if he had just arrived.

"What'd you buy?" Naminé had come back to the front of the store and noticed his black bag.

"Just some action figures for my little cousin," he lied.

"How nice." Naminé smiled. "I'm done looking here at this store. Can we go look somewhere else?''

"Sure." Roxas followed Naminé as she walked around aimlessly, finally settling on a store that sold keychains, candy, fake jewelry, and other merchandise. A couple of times, she tried on bracelets that had interestingly-shaped beads for the fun of it, but she didn't seem that interested in them. She walked around some more and studied the keychains aisle. Roxas quickly noticed the familiar star-shaped keychain. He was surprised to see that Naminé seemed to be staring at it. Did she want it? he wondered. It _was _the type of thing that girls liked.

"Do you want that?" he asked.

Naminé looked like she had been in deep thought, but she immediately jumped a little and shook her head.

"No," she said softly, getting up and straightening her gown.

"You sure?"

"Yes," she responded quietly, almost boldly. She glanced at the clock. "Hey, Roxas, we've been out for pretty long."

Roxas glanced at the clock. "Only for an hour!" he said. He couldn't believe that time had gone by so quickly. "Are you tired or something? If you are, we can leave."

"Yes. I'm...not used to going out much, you know." Naminé looked away uncomfortably. "That...that is one of the reasons why I was restricted from going outside."

"Oh, because you might get even more sick?" Roxas thought that was understandable.

"I suppose so. Anyway, every room in the hospital is checked every few minutes, so I can't hide the fact that I'm not asleep in my bed forever, you know." Naminé smiled a bit.

"Oh, okay. I'll take you back to the hospital then."

**xXxXxXxXx**

"So we're going to climb _up _the tree to get to my room?" Naminé gulped and stared up at the tree.

"Don't worry, _I'm _gonna do the climbing," Roxas smiled. "You just have to get on my back."

"Again?"

"Yes, your Majesty," he teased. She blushed, but obediently got onto his back. "Hold on tight," he advised her, even though she probably didn't need him to tell her that. She was clinging on to him for dear life as he slowly ascended up the tree. He peeked inside the window and was relieved to see that there was only Hayner in there, who was fast asleep.

He pushed the window open quietly and slowly until there was enough space for them to get through. He carefully climbed in.

"It wasn't as scary as the first time," Naminé whispered thoughtfully as she climbed off his back.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the first time when you were carrying me down the tree, I was really scared." Naminé smiled sheepishly. "But the second time I wasn't as scared."

"Really?"

"Yeah, because I knew that no matter what, you wouldn't let me get hurt." Naminé's smile grew more shy yet wider. Roxas could feel his cheeks growing warm, and his stomach had a funny tingling sensation in it. "Anyway...I just wanted to say...thank you, Roxas. It was...very nice of you to take me out."

"No problem." Roxas smiled. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot! This is for you!" Roxas gave his black bag to her. She looked at it blankly, but made no move to open it.

"Isn't this for your cousin?"

"No, I lied," he grinned. "Sorry."

"Oh." Naminé was still staring at it. "My...very own action figures. Thank you, Roxas."

Roxas chuckled softly. "No, it's not action figures, Naminé," he grinned.

"Oh." Naminé looked embarrassed, but she reached into the bag and her eyes widened as she pulled out the plushie. "Pochacco..." she whispered, stunned. "You mean...you bought it for me?"

"Yeah."

Naminé could feel her eyes growing hot with tears. "Roxas...you're so sweet," she whispered. Before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around him. "Thank you...thank you _so much_."

"Uhh..." Roxas felt as if his body temperature had shot up 100 degrees. "N-no problem, Naminé."

Naminé let go of him. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Roxas," she said softly.

"Yeah," he said awkwardly. "Bye."

Roxas climbed out of the window and onto the tree. "Wait, Roxas...!" Naminé called him back desperately.

"Yeah?" Roxas turned.

Naminé gazed directly into his eyes, her blue orbs full of happiness. "Thank you again for tonight, Roxas," she whispered, her lips curling into a soft smile.

"You're welcome. It was fun," Roxas smiled back. He waved silently before descending the tree, and Naminé waved back and closed the window silently. She stared down at him until he was gone.

_Roxas, you're so sweet. Olette is lucky to have a boyfriend like you. _Naminé smiled wistfully as she sighed and locked the window.

"So, Naminé..." a very familiar female voice murmured in the dark. Naminé's eyes widened, and she almost gasped. She whirled around slowly until she was staring up into the serious eyes of the shadowy figure.

"You went out tonight, even though you weren't supposed to."

Naminé swallowed. She was caught doing something that _nobody _in this hospital had ever dared to try. What was she going to _do?_

She could only whisper the young woman's name in helpless dismay.

"Yuna..."

**xXxXxXx**

A/N. Wow. So much drama. Namie's BUSTED. D:

I know it may seem annoying that Roxas blushes so much, but I couldn't think of any other reaction. Eheh... . 

Anyway, I know Olette is supposed to be super nice and sweet, but there will be times when she acts a bit mean because of Namie hanging around Roxas. Don't worry, I won't make her SUPER SUPER evil and like some pyscho witch trying to kill Namie later. O.O

I hope you don't mind that the romance will be a bit slow. x.x.;; I guess that's all for now and please review! (:


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

A/N. Yay! I went to Anime Expo of 2007 at Long Beach and had oodles of fun! XDD There was this really cute Namie postcard...EEEEE XDD I just HAD to buy it. :D

Anyway, many thanks to those who read and reviewed this story! (: Enjoy this chapter :DDD

**xXxXxXxXx**

"OH, MY GOSH, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Yuna practically tackled the startled girl and gave her a backbreaking hug.

"Wh-wha??" Naminé was beyond confused. Wasn't Yuna supposed to be YELLING at her? Lecturing her? Dragging her off to see Cid?

This was NOT what she had imagined.

"Y-Yuna - " she wheezed.

"I never knew you had it in you," Yuna grinned, her voice lowering to a whisper as she let go of her. "I mean - you, sneaking out at nighttime? And to go out with a BOY? My, you've grown so much..." Yuna pretended to sniffle. "My little Naminé's all grown up!"

"No! It's not like that, I-I swear!"

"It pretty much looked like it, Namie, dear. I mean, after all, he carried you on his back! Not to mention that you HUGGED him, and he BLUSHED. Hey, you were lying about that boy having a girlfriend, weren't you? He sure seems to have the hots for YOU!" "

"N-no, it's not what you think, Yuna!" Naminé protested helplessly, feeling utterly mortified. "For one, he carried me on his back because I can't climb trees. And two, I hugged him because...because I-I was grateful! And he blushed because he's a very modest boy. A-and It's true, he already has a girlfriend!"

"Then WHY was he sneaking out to go with you?" Yuna wiggled her eyebrow suggestively.

"I-it was because he felt sympathy for me, that's all! He felt sorry that I wasn't allowed to go outside!"

"Wow, he must have felt a LOT of sympathy to the extent where he'd trespass and sneak out with you," Yuna smiled widely. "Face it, Naminé, dear...he likes you. And you like him, too, don't you?"

"Y-Yuna, we're only friends!"

"Yeah, and a little friendlier than friendly,'' Yuna chuckled, her eyes twinkling. "You guys should go to the festival together!"

"B-but...he's already going with his girlfriend..." Naminé mumbled.

Yuna didn't seem to hear because she was rambling on excitedly. "It'll be so cute, I just know it!"

Naminé yawned tiredly. Yuna looked at her, surprised.

"Oh, you're sleepy, aren't you?"

"Yeah..." Hopefully, this would make Yuna leave her alone.

"Well, I don't blame you...you've stayed out for about an hour with that boy." Yuna grinned. Before Naminé could say anything in reply, she patted the girl on the head. "Okay, Naminé, it's time for you to go to sleep now."

"Okay..." Naminé climbed into her bed. "O-oh...and Yuna? You aren't going to tell Sir Cid about this, are you?" she asked hesitantly, her heart sinking.

"Of course - "

Naminé's stomach lurched.

" - not!" Yuna finished, grinning. "Good night, Naminé," she said more seriously, turning to leave.

"W-wait...Yuna?"

"Yeah?" Yuna turned back.

Naminé swallowed, hesitant.

"N-never mind. I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night." Naminé closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep, hugging Pochacco to her face. That night, she dreamed about Roxas.

**xXxXxXx**

_**+----The Next Day (during break at school) ----+**_

"What's up, Roxas? You look horrible."

Roxas groaned. "Just...kept having weird dreams and waking up in the middle of the night."

"What kind of dreams?" his red-haired friend smiled wanly.

"Not the kind of dreams that _you_'_d _have, Axel."

"What do you mean by that?" Axel pretended to look offended.

"You _know _what I mean," Roxas rolled his eyes. Knowing Axel, he'd probably be dreaming about sneaking into the girls' locker room unseen.

"I'm serious, though, what _kind _of dreams have you been having?" Axel pressed. "I mean, you look wiped out."

Roxas hesitated. "I've been dreaming...about _her_ again," Roxas admitted, closing his eyes and reliving his dream.

_"Roxas...did you forget about me already?" _

_The girl turned to him, her face blurred like a steamed mirror, but he could hear the sadness in her voice. _

_"Wh-wha..." he found himself choking. _

_"I remembered you, Roxas. Why can't you remember me? You promised you'd remember me always...You _promised_." _

_"I-I'm sorry!" Roxas cried out helplessly. "I'm so sorry!" _

_She turned her back on him and began to walk away. _

_"Hey, wait!" Roxas reached out his hand and started running after her, but no matter how fast he ran, she seemed to be beyond his reach. "Wait, come back!" _

"Again?" Axel echoed. "That chick you've been friends with since forever but haven't seen since forever?"

"Yeah, _her_," Roxas was getting annoyed. "What about it, Axel?"

"Sorry, Roxas, I didn't mean it in an insulting way or anything," Axel shrugged. "It's just that it's kinda weird. You've been dreaming about her since the beginning of the school year."

"Yeah, but at the beginning of the school year, I didn't dream about her that much," Roxas said slowly. "But now, they keep coming back like crazy."

"_Weird_."

"Yeah," Roxas said dully.

"You know, I've been thinking..." Axel began thoughtfully. "When you moved away from her, why didn't you just - you know, ring her up or send her a letter?"

"I _did_, Axel. I told you that, remember?" Roxas sighed.

"Really? Gee, I must have forgotten, then," Axel said sheepishly.

"Well, I sent her a letter right after I moved into my new house. But I waited for about a month and she never replied, so I called her. But I didn't recognize the caller on the other line...Anyway, he said he didn't know her."

"So she moved?" Axel said curiously.

"Looks that way," Roxas said heavily. He sighed and lay his head in his arms. "Man...I'm really having trouble remembering her, but I miss her...It's kinda weird, how you can miss somebody you can't really remember."

"Well, cheer up, there's still good news, Roxas!" Axel exclaimed.

"What's that?"

Axel spread out his arms wide. "_I'm _here for you!" he cried out dramatically. "So, if you ever need a hug, you know where to find one!"

Roxas sweatdropped. It was true that Axel cared very much for Roxas and thought of him as the younger brother he never had, but when he acted like this, it was so weird.

"I swear I don't know you," Roxas tried to act disturbed, but he couldn't fight back a smile.

**xXxXxXx**

_**+----Lunch----+**_

"Hey, Sora!"

Sora turned. "Oh, hey, Kairi!" he said casually.

She sat down on the grass next to him. "Whacha doing?" she asked.

"Just thinking..." Sora leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes.

"You? Thinking?" Kairi chuckled.

"Hey!" Sora's eyes flew open at her remark and he made a face at her.

"I was just kidding." Kairi smiled. "Anyway, are you going to the festival next week?"

"Uhh...maybe." Sora turned away. Truthfully, he wanted to ask _her _out to the festival, but he didn't know how. "You?"

"Not sure."

"Oh."

They both sat silently together, studying their surroundings dismissively.

_Whooosh. _The gentle breeze flew, causing numerous sakura petals to dance in the air.

"The sakura blossoms are so pretty," Kairi sighed. "Don't you think so, Sora?"

"Huh? Oh..." Sora gazed at the glowing pink petals and shrugged. "I guess they're pretty."

Sora turned to stare at the red-head, who was watching the sakura petals as if she were in a trance. Her crimson hair was waving gently against her face and her aquamarine eyes were as bright as the sakura petals were while they were being touched by the sunlight.

"But not as pretty as - " Sora began without thinking, and then stopped in mid-sentence.

"Not as pretty as what?" Kairi turned to him quizzically.

"...Uh, not as pretty as other flowers," Sora finished lamely.

"Oh, really?" Kairi turned to gaze at the sakura petals again. "I think sakura flowers are the prettiest flowers of all, but...I think all flowers are pretty in their own way. They're all different, but each have their own special kind of beauty."

Sora found himself nodding absentmindedly. _You're different, but beautiful in your own way..._

He shook his head rapidly, as if to clear his thoughts, and turned away from her, feeling embarrassed, as if he thought she could read his thoughts.

"Ah, Sora..."

"Wha - " Sora turned, but he blinked, startled, when he saw that Kairi was leaning rather close to him, gently picking a petal that had dropped into his brown hair.

"There was a petal in your hair," she explained smoothly, smiling.

"O-oh...I see." A faint tint of pink crossed his face, but thankfully, her attention was diverted from him as she yawned, holding her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sleepy. I stayed up last night to study for that big test in math class," she sighed. "Hey, do you mind if I use your shoulder as a pillow?"

"E-eh??" Sora gaped as Kairi didn't wait for a yes and lay her head on his shoulder, her side pressed lightly against his. "E-er, K-Kairi, you - that is, uh - "

"I'm going to sleep..." Kairi whispered softly, as if she hadn't heard his stammering. "Watch over me, okay, Sora?"

"E-erm...uh, okay." Sora swallowed hard. He was embarrassed, but he felt pleased, too.

Her pink lips curled into a pleasant smile, yet her eyes remained closed.

"Thanks, Sora..."

A peaceful atmosphere surrounded the two, with Kairi resting silently against Sora, and Sora gazing down at her innocent, sleeping face.

**xXxXxXx**

"Hey, Olette," Roxas began as soon as he approached his girlfriend, who was working on her homework on a green bench.

"Yeah?" the brunette answered, not looking up from her math worksheet.

"Uh, the festival...uh, I need to ask you something about it..." he mumbled.

Olette looked at Roxas curiously. "What is it, Roxas?" she asked. "Speak up, please."

Roxas took a deep breath. "Well, I was just wondering," he said hurriedly, in a louder voice, "if...if Naminé could come with us to the festival."

Her deep green eyes concentrated on his face with a blank stare. "Why?" she questioned quizzically.

"Uh, well, I feel bad that she's always cooped up in her room," he tried to explain. "So I want her to go out more...I guess."

Olette put down her pencil and stared down at her math worksheet for a long time. Roxas cringed, expecting her to say no. "Okay," she said finally. "But we're still both going as dates, right?"

"Well, yeah, of course. Her coming doesn't really change anything, Olette."

Olette seemed a bit happier after hearing this. "Great! The festival's going to be a blast, I just know it!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah. It'll be great," Roxas smiled.

Roxas was relieved and surprised that Olette had agreed to let Naminé go with them so nonchalantly. Maybe Olette really didn't dislike Naminé, after all. He had thought that Olette didn't like Naminé because she was seemingly a "threat" to their relationship. Now he was pleased to know that wasn't the case. Still, he couldn't help thinking that Olette shouldn't worry so much about Naminé being an interference. It wasn't as if he'd fall in love with Naminé, right?

**xXxXxXx**

_**+---After School---+**_

Roxas walked out of the bathroom stall and found Sora washing his hands at one of the sinks.

"Hey, Sora!"

Sora glanced at him from the mirror. "Oh, hey, Roxas."

Roxas smiled slyly. "Have you asked Kairi yet?" he asked innocently.

Sora pretended to be completely absorbed in washing his hands.

"I know you can hear me, unless you have an invisible hearing aid," Roxas said sarcastically. "Sora, the festival is next Monday. For all we know, she could get asked out by another guy to the festival!"

"For all we know, she could reject me and I'd look like a total idiot," Sora mumbled.

"Not that you don't look like one already," Roxas joked.

"H-hey!"

"I was just kidding. Anyway, I'm serious. You should ask out Kairi soon."

"That's easy for you to say. Olette asked _you _out to the festival, not the other way around," Sora countered.

_Well, that's true..._Roxas thought.

"I hear that somebody's gonna ask out Kairi today ," Roxas lied innocently.

"Wh-what??! R-really?"

"Yeah, he's that really popular guy that all the girls like. I guess if you're too scared of rejection, you're going to lose her to him." Roxas faked a wistful sigh.

Sora bit his lip, thinking hard. "Okay, fine!" the spiky-haired brunette's face grinned. "No problem! It'll be a piece of cake!"

"That's my man, Sora," Roxas joked, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

**xXxXxXx**

"It'll be a piece of cake!" Sora told himself as he walked down the corridor. "I'll just ask "Hey, Kairi, do you - ''

"Are you talking to yourself, Sora?"

"Gyah!" Sora nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around slowly. Speak of the devil. "K-Kairi!"

Kairi smiled that dazzling smile of hers. "I heard my name. Were you talking smack about me behind my back, Sora?" she teased.

"N-no!" Sora gulped. He had been so confident before! Where was his courage now when he needed it?

He had always felt comfortable around Kairi, but now the thought of asking her out made him queasy. He was scared that she'd say no and their friendship would be jeopardized, but he didn't want to sit in the shadows and watch as she was swept off her feet by somebody else.

"Sora? You okay?"

Sora blinked. "Uh, yeah, why do you ask?" he asked nervously.

"You're acting weird..._weirder _than usual!" Kairi laughed, but it wasn't an insulting one. It was a laugh at a good joke.

"Hey!" Sora pretended to make a sour face at her, but he was grinning, too. He noticed that she was holding a note in her hand. "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Kairi looked at it dismissively. "Some guy stuck a note in my locker. He was too shy to ask me out to the festival himself, y'know?"

"O-oh..." Sora stammered. _Oh, no! Did Kairi agree to go with him?! Am I too late?_

Kairi sighed. "He's cute..."

Sora's stomach lurched.

"...but he's not really my type."

Sora's heart lifted. "R-really?!" he said eagerly. "I-I mean...really?" he repeated in a more casual voice.

"I felt a little bad rejecting him," Kairi continued on, not noticing the happy expression on Sora's face, "but I know it was the right thing to do. I mean, he's cute and all, but I wouldn't want to go out with an insensitive guy like him."

"Oh." Inwardly, Sora was celebrating. _Yeahhhhh! _

Kairi bit her lip. "I still don't have a date for the festival, though. Oh, well, I guess I can ask Riku..."

_Nooooo! _

"...or I can go by myself. But I'll be left out of all the fun!" Kairi wrinkled her nose. "So I guess I'll ask Riku."

_NOOOOO! _

"Oh, I'm going to go find Selphie...See you later, Sora!" Kairi smiled at him and turned to leave. Sora knew that if he didn't act quickly, he would lose Kairi to his friend. Riku would never let him live it down.

"W-wait, Kairi!"

Kairi turned back. "Yeah?"

Sora took a deep breath. "Uh...I was...Iwaswonderingifyou'dliketogotothefestivalwithme."

Kairi wrinkled her nose again in that cute way of hers. "Sora, what language are you speaking?" she asked teasingly. "I can't understand you."

Sora took another deep breath, inwardly yelling at his heart for beating so loudly and rapidly. "I was...wondering if you'd like to go to the festival with me." Sora gulped at the surprised expression on her face. "It'd be...uh, great if you said yes...but...uh, I understand if you don't want to go..."

"What are you talking about, silly?" Kairi laughed.

Sora's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. _Rejected._

"Of course I'll go with you!" she finished happily.

_EHHH?!_

Sora stared at her. "Y-you...you mean it?" he managed to choke out.

"No, I'm just saying that for kicks," Kairi joked. "Of course I'll go with you. It'll be so much fun!"

Sora could feel himself in a world of ectasy. _SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES! AHAHA! I'M THE MAN! _

"Wait...uh, Kairi? Are we...going as friends or as dates?" Sora asked awkwardly.

Kairi gazed at him for a long time, making him shift his feet uncomfortably. She then tilted her head upwards and kissed him on the cheek.

"What do _you _think?'' she asked. With a bright smile, she walked down the hallway, leaving him staring after her with his cheek burning and his jaw hanging open.

**xXxXxXx**

"Hey, Roxas, do you wanna go to the cake shop now?'' Olette asked her boyfriend eagerly as they left the school courtyard.

Roxas flinched. He had told himself to visit Naminé right after school. He didn't want to ditch his girlfriend, but he didn't want to leave Naminé all by herself, either. He finally decided to visit Naminé. After all, he spent plenty of time with Olette daily, so why not visit Naminé?

"Uh, sorry, Olette, I can't go today," Roxas lied. It wasn't hard to sound guilty.

"Why not?" Olette was surprised. Roxas almost always found a way to set aside time for them to be together.

"Uh, I gotta...go to my little cousin's party." Roxas felt horrible for lying, but he didn't know what else to say.

"Oh, okay." Olette seemed understanding, but a bit disappointed as well, which made Roxas feel like a complete jerk.

"Sorry, Olette," Roxas winced. "I promise I'll make it up to you somehow."

"Oh, don't worry about me," Olette smiled. "You just go to your little cousin's party. I hope you have fun!"

It felt really weird to hear his own lie coming out of her mouth, but he laughed weakly. "Y-yeah..."

To make himself feel better, he leaned over and kissed Olette on the cheek. "I'm still gonna make it up to you, okay? It's a promise."

Olette's slender arms circled around him in a loose embrace, and he hugged her back. "I trust you, Roxas," she whispered.

This made him feel even worse, but Roxas reluctantly let go of her, waved goodbye, and went on his way.

**xXxXxXx**

_**+---At the Hospital---+**_

"Hey, Hayner, Naminé!" Roxas said cheerfully as he walked into their room.

"Hi, Roxas," Naminé smiled, her cheeks turning pink with pleasure. Hayner didn't say anything, completely absorbed in his book called **Skateboarding Techniques. **

"Hey, Hayner? Earth to Hayner?" Roxas waved his hand in front of his face.

Hayner looked at him. "What?'' he said silkily.

Roxas blinked, startled. It was unlike Hayner to be grouchy.

"Hey," Hayner said casually, but he turned back to his book and started reading again. Roxas glanced at Naminé, who frowned confusedly at him in return. Roxas gave a helpless shrug.

"Where's Olette?" Hayner inquired.

"Huh? O-oh...uh, she...she had something to do, so she couldn't come with me." Another lie, Roxas winced, but he didn't want Hayner getting the wrong idea.

"...I see."

It was very uncomfortable being around a grouchy Hayner, but Roxas tried not to let it show. He walked over to Naminé. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?"

"I asked Olette if you could come with us to the festival, and she said you can!"

Hayner looked up from his book and gazed at them silently, but they didn't notice.

"R-really?" the petite girl smiled, delighted.

"Yeah! Isn't that great?"

Naminé's smile faded and she bit her lip anxiously. "Are you sure she won't mind, Roxas?" she said quietly. "I don't want anything happening to your relationship with her on my behalf..."

''Nothing's gonna happen, I'm sure of it! Aw, c'mon, Naminé, say you'll go!"

"...Um, I'd love to go, but I need permission first!" Naminé smiled shyly, clasping her hands before her.

"Oh, okay. Hey, Hayner! Will you be able to go to the festival on Monday?"

"...I dunno," Hayner shrugged. "Maybe..."

"Naminé, it's time for your - " Yuna came in, along with Rikku, but stopped mid-sentence at the sight of Roxas. "Oh, Roxas...how nice to see you!"

"Same here," Roxas said politely. He noticed that Yuna cast a rather sly look at Naminé, who flushed slightly and turned away. He was puzzled, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, guys, sorry to barge in on your conversation," Rikku said cheerfully, "but I have to move Hayner to another room."

"Eh? Why?" Roxas asked quizzically.

"Well, Namie needs her space and privacy," Rikku explained. Roxas couldn't help but notice that she and Yuna exchanged strangely serious looks.

"Rikku, uh...when do you think I'll be able to walk again?" Hayner spoke up quietly.

"Oh, probably in a few days...maybe Saturday!" Rikku said brightly.

"Hey, that's great! Then you can come to the festival with us next Monday!" Roxas said happily.

"Yeah...Great," Hayner mumbled.

"That's cool," Rikku commented, helping Hayner into a wheelchair. "Hey, by the way, are you bringing a date along?" she asked curiously, grinning at the two boys.

"I-I - uh, yeahh..." Roxas said, blushing a little.

"What about you, Hayner?" Rikku asked.

"No..."

"Aw, why not?"

Hayner then cast Roxas a weird stare for a while. "It's okay. I don't need a date to go have fun," he said stiffly.

"That's true," Yuna said lightly, "but it'd be more fun if you had a date."

"Yeah, I guess so," Hayner murmured.

"Okay, see you later, guys!" Rikku said, starting to wheel Hayner out of the room.

"Okay, bye!"

"Hey, Roxas," Yuna said, once Rikku and Hayner were gone, "I need to...uh, perform ...something on Naminé, so is it okay if I - "

"Oh, you need privacy, right?"

Yuna looked sheepish. "Yeah."

"Oh, no problem!" Roxas smiled.

"Thanks!" Yuna draped the curtain around Naminé's bed. "I'll call you in when I'm done."

"Okay, I'll be in Hayner's room!" Roxas said.

"Okay. His room is at the end of the hall, just to let you know," Yuna said, her voice slightly muffled because she was behind the curtain.

"Okay! Thanks."

Roxas left the room and walked down the hallway to Hayner's room.

"Hey, Hayner!"

Hayner jumped a little, startled, but relaxed when he noticed it was Roxas.

"Oh. Roxas."

Roxas frowned. Why was Hayner acting so distant? He liked the loud, cheerful, outgoing Hayner better.

"Hayner, what's up? You've been acting weird."

"It's nothing."

"Really." It was more of an exasperated remark than a question. Roxas was starting to get irritated. "Hayner - "

"Just leave me alone, will you!"

Roxas' eyes widened at the vehemence in his friend's voice. Hayner glared at him for a while before he turned away, sighing.

"Sorry. It's just that a lot of things have been on my mind lately," Hayner sighed again.

"Oh." Roxas thought for a while. Well, he was missing out on a lot of stuff - skateboarding, playing sports at school, and a lot more. Not to mention the fact that he'd have a lot of homework piled upon him when he came back to school..."If you want, I'll listen," he offered.

"No...it's okay." Hayner shook his head. "Anyway, Roxas, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Hayner looked right into his face. "You and OIette...there's no problems in your relationship right now, right?"

"What??" Roxas was shocked. "Of course not! What are you talking about?"

Hayner shrugged. "I dunno, it's just that...you two seem kinda...uh..."

"There's no problems in our relationship!" Roxas said, feeling greatly offended.

"Okay, sorry." Hayner frowned. "It's just that...I notice that you've been spending a lot of time with Naminé."

"What?!" Roxas couldn't believe his ears. "Hayner, I've only had a real conversation with her once, and that was yesterday."

"Yeah, well..." Hayner seemed uncomfortable. "Being a friend and all, I can't help but worry, y'know? Naminé's a great girl and all, but I don't approve of the idea of you ditching Olette to be with her."

"Hayner, what are you talking about?! I'd _never _ditch Olette!"

"Okay, okay, okay! I was just worried, okay??" Now Hayner was getting mad, too.

Roxas fumed inwardly for a while, but then after staring at Hayner for a while, he started to burst out laughing.

"What the - What's so funny?" Hayner demanded.

"I dunno...i-it's just that...we're fighting over...something so...lame!"

"What?? Y-you're so w-weird..." Hayner was laughing as well.

"I missed days like this," Roxas admitted after he stopped laughing. "You, me, Olette hanging out..."

"Yeah. What happened?" Hayner said, sounding a bit sad.

"I don't know. You had to transfer to a different high school...and..." Roxas' voice drifted off. It had felt very empty without Hayner at the beginning of the school year. It had only been a month without him, but it still felt as if something was missing.

"So? We still could have found the time to hang out with each other, y'know." Hayner looked straight at Roxas, making him feel guilty. He _was _right. But Roxas didn't know how they ended up this way. Was it because he was spending too much time with Olette and had so much schoolwork to worry about that he didn't have enough time to fit anything else in his schedule?

"Sorry," Roxas said finally.

"S'okay."

"Hey, since your cast will be taken off tomorrow, you should come with us to the festival!" Roxas suggested.

For the first time that day, a smile crossed Hayner's face.

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea."

**xXxXxXx**

After a few minutes of talking with Hayner, Yuna came in the room to tell him that she was finished. Roxas said goodbye to Hayner and went back to Naminé's room. He was surprised to see that she was flushed and sweaty.

"Hey, what's up? You look like you just ran ten laps around the hospital!"

Naminé smiled weakly, her face pink from sweating. "It's just something that needs to be peformed everyday," she said nonchalantly. And Roxas knew not to pester her any further.

"I hope the hospital lets you go. It'd be great if you could come," Roxas said.

"Yeah." Naminé smiled weakly, walking over to the sink and pulling her sleeves back to wash a small piece of cloth. Roxas noticed a soft glow that seemed to be coming from her right wrist. It seemed to be a bracelet.

"Hey, that's a neat bracelet!" he commented.

"Wha - oh, this?" Naminé stopped wiping the sweat off her face with the small towel to look at the bracelet, which had a silvery band and sparkling, white diamonds on it spelling out the words **Best Friends Forever.**"Oh, yeah...I think it's pretty, too."

"Where'd you get it?" Roxas said, wondering if he would be able to get one for Olette.

"I don't remember." Naminé frowned. "I just know that I had this a while before I came to this hospital...but I don't remember where I got it."

"Oh. That's okay."

The silence was awkward.

"Have you ever gone to a festival?" Roxas asked. "I mean, before you came here?"

"If I did, I don't remember." Naminé smiled sheepishly.

"Oh. So, it'll be your first time if you go! Well, if you go, then..." Roxas began to describe all the neat things to do at a festival while Naminé listened, nodding and smiling, her eyes never leaving his.

**xXxXxXx**

_**+----An hour or so later----+**_

"Wow. It sounds fun."

"It _is_. I went there last year with Olette and it was a blast."

"Oh. That's...nice." Naminé smiled, but her smile seemed pasted on now.

_Beep! _

"Uh, my cell's ringing...hold on a sec, okay?"

"Okay."

He took out his cell and glanced at the screen. Three messages. One from his dad, one from Sora, and one from Olette.

He selected Olette's message first.

**Hey Roxie having fun:) Anyway do u want 2 go with the mall with me 2morrow? Reply asap! Love ya! x3**

He responded.

**Yea its great here lol! lemme check my schedule first k? x3**

He then checked Sora's message.

**i think i died and went to heaven! details later xD**

He chuckled out loud at his cousin's weirdness and replied.

**weirdo! xD**

Last, but not least, there was his father's message.

**Come home asap we have to leave by 5 to go to Sora's house for dinner**

Roxas checked his watch. _Oh, shoot! It's 4:44! _

"Uh, listen, Naminé, I have to go now, okay?"

"Oh, okay." Naminé smiled, but Roxas could tell that she was disappointed. He felt sorry that he would be leaving Naminé all by herself with no one to talk to.

"I'll come over tomorrow right after school," Roxas promised.

"Okay." Naminé beamed happily.

"I hope the hospital lets you go! Cross your fingers, 'cause I have mine crossed!" Roxas joked, showing her his crossed fingers.

"R-right." Naminé blushed, crossing her own fingers.

"See you tomorrow!"

**xXxXxXx**

_**+----At Sora's House----+**_

"Roxas! You've grown so much since we last saw you!" Sora's mother, Hikari, hugged Roxas and kissed his cheek, who smiled politely, but thought, _Last time you saw me was just two months ago..._

"Hey, you've even grown taller than Sora!" Sora's father, Daisuke, commented with a laugh.

_Uh, actually, I was _always _taller than Sora..._Roxas thought, resisting the urge to burst out laughing. He concentrated on looking at the floor. He noticed that there were more pairs of shoes than usual. Weird, he thought.

"Anyway, I'm sorry we started dinner without you. But the others were getting hungry," Hikari smiled sheepishly.

"Others?" Roxas echoed.

"Oh, I mean - Kairi and Mr. and Mrs. Asahina. We invited them over to dinner!"

"Oh." _That _made sense. No wonder there were more pairs of shoes...

Speaking of Kairi, Roxas wondered if Sora had asked her out yet. Trying to hide a grin, he went into the kitchen and found Kairi's family and Sora sitting at the table, eating.

"Why, hello there, Roxas!" Kairi's mom, Haruka, smiled brightly.

"You've grown so tall," Kairi's dad, Yuki, added. Roxas smiled politely yet again, wishing adults didn't say that all the time. Kairi looked up from her plate and waved at him. He waved back and cast Sora a suggestive grin, to which he blushed and pretended to be totally absorbed in eating a piece of celery.

When Sora, Kairi, and Roxas were done, they excused themselves and went upstairs.

"I'm going to go to the restroom, okay?" Kairi said.

"Sure."

Kairi walked down the hallway and disappeared into the bathroom. Sora and Roxas went into Sora's bedroom.

"Hasn't changed much. Still as messy as ever," Roxas teased, looking around at the messy room.

"Shut up!" Sora laughed.

"Hey, by the way, you asked her out, right?"

Sora jammed his hands into his pockets and averted Roxas' eyes. "Yeah."

"Really? What'd she say?"

"...She said yeah..."

"Well, that's good!"

Sora shifted his eyes. "Uh, Roxas?" he said slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks...for, uh, nagging me to ask her out." Sora took a deep breath. "If I hadn't asked her out before, she would have went ahead and asked out Riku. Riku probably would have said yes."

"No way! Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Are you guys going as friends or as dates?"

"She didn't exactly say. When I asked her, she just kissed me on the cheek and said 'what do _you _think?' Soo...I'm guessing that's a yes, right?"

Roxas stared at Sora as if he were nuts. "Well, _obviously!_ All riiiight, Sora, my man!" Roxas clapped his hand on Sora's shoulder.

"C-cut it out, you're embarrassing me! What if somebody hears you - like _Kairi _for instance?"

"Did I hear my name?" Kairi walked into the room. Sora stepped away from Roxas quickly.

"K-Kairi!"

"Your face is all red, Sora." Kairi frowned and peered at him closely.

"Uh, I - ah - "

"It's _hot _in here, isn't it?" Kairi raised her hand to wipe the sweat off her forehead.

Roxas noticed a shimmer that seemed to be coming from her wrist. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was the exactly the same as the one Naminé had!

"Hey - that bracelet - " he blurted out.

Kairi stared at him curiously. "What, this?" Kairi's gaze shifted to her bracelet.

"Yeah...it's just that, well, I've seen it before, that's all."

"Bracelets like these are really common," Kairi shrugged. "They're not as beautiful as bracelets made out of real jewels, but they're cute in their own way."

"Yeah..." Roxas' mouth moved clumsily. For some reason, when he saw that bracelet, a weird feeling flickered through his head.

"Oh, hey, Roxas," Kairi went on, "tell us more about this Naminé girl at the hospital."

Yesterday, Roxas had filled them in about the blonde girl he was visiting at the hospital. They were interested about her after learning that she was their age.

"Is she pretty?" Kairi pressed questioningly. "Just wondering."

"Uh, well..." Roxas's face turned pink. "I-I suppose so."

Sora smirked at Roxas, but Kairi simply smiled and nodded.

"Hey, the next time you go visit her, can Sora and I come with you?" Kairi asked eagerly. It was just like her to be interested in meeting new people.

"Yeah, it'd be nice to go someplace. I'm always stuck at home doing nothing!" Sora chimed in.

"Oh, okay, sure." Roxas shrugged.

"Olette's coming, right?" Kairi inquired curiously.

"Olette?" Roxas repeated, blinking. He had almost forgotten he even had a girlfriend named Olette and immediately felt guilty. "Uhhh...I don't know."

There was silence.

"I'm bored," Sora spoke up.

"Uh, okay. Let's play something then. How about a game of MASH?" Kairi suggested, grinning widely.

"I hate that game," Sora moaned. "I always end up living in a shack."

Kairi giggled. "Aw, don't be such a baby, Sora!" she teased. "C'mon, we're all bored here!"

"Oh, okay, okay," Sora sighed.

"Got any paper around here? And a pencil?" Kairi looked around the messy room.

"I'll get it!" Sora opened his closet and rummaged in it for a while. "Here we go!" Sora held out a slightly crumpled piece of paper and a short pencil.

"Okay. Who wants to go first?" Kairi looked at the two cousins. They both looked each one another and shrugged. "Okay, Sora, you're going first," she declared.

"Awww..." Sora groaned.

"Okay, name four girls," Kairi said airily.

"Uhhhhh...Selphie, Ariel...uh, Naminé," Sora named off of the top of his head. He then paused, hesitating. "And...Kairi," he fidgetted.

"Okay," Kairi said casually, as if she were taking his order at a restaurant. Roxas grinned at Sora, who made a face at him and stuck out his tongue.

"Name four guys."

"Riku, Tidus, Roxas, and Axel," Sora said more smoothly this time, without hesitating.

"Okay." Kairi wrote them down. "Four numbers?"

"0, 1, 2, and 3," Sora said, not wanting to think of any random numbers.

"Okay, tell me when to stop!"

Sora stared blankly at her for a while before he said, "Uh, stop?"

"Okay. 8!" Sora and Roxas peered curiously at the piece of paper as Kairi counted 8 clockwise starting from M. She crossed out Axel's name.

"Oh, well, we really aren't that close, anyway," Sora told Roxas.

"You're not going to marry Selphie," Kairi said, crossing out her name. Sora inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. She was a nice girl and all, but he didn't think he wanted to spend the rest of his life with such a hyper girl. Anyway, she already had a boyfriend.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're not going to have three children."

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're not going to live in an apartment."

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're definitely going to have children," Kairi said with a grin, crossing out 0. Sora blushed and rubbed his head sheepishly, ignoring the suggestive smile Roxas cast him.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"Tidus won't be your best friend."

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're not going to live in a shack, thank goodness," Kairi joked.

"Finally!" Sora whooped, to which Kairi laughed.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You won't marry Naminé."

For some reason, Roxas felt a weird feeling in his chest. Was it relief?

"I don't even know her," Sora commented.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're going to marry me," Kairi said casually, crossing out Ariel's name and circling her own. She didn't notice the way Sora turned a deep shade of red, nor the way Roxas nudged Sora in the ribs, and Sora nudged back with more force.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're going to live in a mansion."

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're going to have two children."

Roxas nudged Sora again, but this time, Sora stomped on his bare foot.

"Ouch!"

"Hm?" Kairi looked up.

"Sorry, sorry, just go on..." Roxas mumbled, glaring at Sora and then looking at the slightly red bruise on his foot.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"Riku's going to be your best friend!" Kairi said to Sora.

"Boy, do I feel special," Roxas said jokingly.

"Sorry, dude," Sora stuck out his tongue at him.

"So, to sum it up, you're going to live in a mansion with me and two kids," Kairi continued, "and your best friend will be Riku."

"Um, that's great...I guess," Sora turned away to hide his burning face.

"Okay, it's your turn, Roxas. Name four girls and four guys."

"Uh, for the guys, Hayner, Sora, Marluxia, and Axel. And for the girls...um, Naminé, Olette, Selphie, and uh..." Roxas didn't want to say Kairi because he knew that Sora would probably get _really _irked if he happened to be paired up with her. "Larxene?" he said with a shrug, naming a blonde, arrogant girl that lived in his neighborhood.

"Four numbers?"

"0, 1, 2, and 3."

"Okay, tell me when to stop!"

"Stop," Roxas said after a few seconds.

"11!" Kairi's pencil tapped on the piece of paper.

"You're not going to have one child."

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"Your best friend won't be Sora."

"Gee, I feel flattered," Sora mumbled, pretending to pout.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're not going to live in an apartment."

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You won't marry Olette."

"What??" Sora gasped, shocked. "Roxas, how could you!"

For some reason, Roxas didn't feel bothered. "It's just a game, you know," he pointed out.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're not going to marry Selphie."

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, cross.

"You're not going to marry Larxene."

_Oh, well, I wouldn't want to marry that obnoxious chick, anyway, _Roxas thought irritatedly, relieved. When he had come to this neighborhood, Larxene and he had gotten off on the wrong foot and they didn't like each other very much.

"So that means you're going to marry Naminé!" Kairi finished.

"You're going to marry Naminé??" Sora faked a dramatic and shocked gasp. "I can't believe you'd ditch Olette!"

"It's just a game," Roxas reminded him.

While Kairi continued to cross out and circle stuff, Sora continued to bother Roxas about that subject.

"So, you're going to live in a house with Naminé and no kids, and your best friend will be Axel," Kairi declared.

"Ooooh, Roxas," Sora joked, "Olette's going to be _really _mad when she finds out that you're going to break up with her later to marry - "

"It's just a game!" Roxas said hotly. He felt annoyed at Sora for making it sound as if he really would betray Olette, and he felt angry at himself for not feeling any negative feelings toward the outcome of the game. "I mean, games like these don't really happen, right?"

"You never know." Sora shrugged, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Oh, come _on! _That'd _never _happen!"

"The future is full of surprises, Roxas," Kairi said seriously. "You never know."

**xXxXxXx**

_**+---At Roxas' House (an hour or so later)---+**_

"What nonsense..." Roxas mumbled, climbing into his bed. "As if I'd really ditch Olette for Naminé! Well, it's not that Naminé's not my type, it's just that I care too much for Olette to ditch her...wait, what am I saying?"

Roxas sighed heavily and pulled the covers up to his chin. Why was he letting some game get to his head? Was he really that lame?

"I'm going to sleep," he said. "Maybe it'll take my mind off it." Roxas paused. "Okay, now I'm talking to myself. That's pretty stupid."

Roxas turned over onto his side. Why did Naminé always make him think too much? It hurt his head.

_I'm not going to marry Naminé because she's just a friend. Olette is the one I love. Not Naminé...Olette is the one I care about most..._

He repeated that to himself and, feeling a bit satisfied, closed his eyes. Eventually, he fell asleep. That night, he dreamed about Naminé.

**xXxXxXx**

_**+---The Next Day (At School) ---+**_

"Hey, Roxas, let's go to the mall!" Olette declared after they met up in the school courtyard.

"Okay, sure." Roxas was about to follow Olette out when he stopped. "Oh, no..." he groaned, remembering his promise to visit Naminé.

"What's wrong?" Olette asked, alarmed.

"Olette...I-I'm really sorry, but I can't come with you today..." Roxas almost choked on his apology.

"What? Why not? Yesterday you told me you were free today."

"I know, but I just remembered I had to ... uh, help my dad repaint the living room," Roxas lied.

"Oh. Really?"

"Y-yeah."

Olette seemed sad, but she tried to smile. "It's okay, Roxas. I can go by myself."

The upset look on her face made Roxas' heart ache. For a moment, he thought about changing his mind and going with her, but he knew he couldn't break his promise to Naminé.

"Sorry, Olette."

"It's okay, really. Well, bye, Roxas." After giving him a half-hearted hug, to which he guility returned, Olette turned her back on him and walked away. Roxas watched her remorsefully.

"Hey, Roxas!" Kairi and Sora walked up to him.

"Oh, hey guys."

"We're still going to visit Naminé, right?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, yeah, right. Let's go."

**xXxXxXx**

"Your names, please?" the lady smiled politely. Her nametag read **Lenne. **

"Hikaru Roxas, Hamasaki Sora, and Asahina Kairi," Roxas answered for all of them. "And we've come to visit Naminé."

"Hmm...ah, here we go!" Lenne murmured to herself, finished flipping through sheets of paper. A strange look crossed her face and she stared at Kairi.

"Asahina Kairi, is it...?" she said slowly.

"U-uh, yeah..." Kairi stammered, feeling nervous under her intense gaze. Lenne stared at her for a long time before looking back at the sheets of paper.

"You may go see Miss Naminé now."

"Uh, thanks."

The three walked in silence down the corridor.

"That was weird," Kairi said finally. "Did you see the way she looked at me?"

"Yeah...almost like she knew you from somewhere," Sora murmured.

"But I don't think I ever met her before..." Kairi frowned.

The topic was forgotten when they entered Naminé's room. There was a nurse in there, but she wasn't Rikku or Yuna. Roxas instantly recognized her as one of the nurses who whispered "aw, isn't that cute?" when he hugged Olette in the hallway in the other day. She had long, jet black hair that cascaded down her back and serious, brown eyes that were narrow yet looked particularly friendly.

"Hey, Naminé!" Roxas called. "Hey, um..." Roxas looked at her nametag. "Miss Lockheart."

"Oh, please...no formalities! Call me Tifa."

"Okay, _Tifa,_" Roxas said, wondering why people her age always said that kind of stuff. "Uhh...I thought Yuna was Naminé's nurse?"

"She is, but I'm just a volunteer. People my age can volunteer to help patients," Tifa explained.

"Oh, that's cool."

"Oh, hey!" Kairi spoke up suddenly. "That's a really pretty locket, Tifa. Is there a picture inside?"

"Wha..." Tifa gazed down at her golden locket and flushed a bit. "Y-yeah...'' she mumbled softly.

"Can I see it?" Kairi asked.

Tifa hesitated. "O-o...okay," she whispered, her slightly shaking fingers opening the locket. "J-just for a moment, though...I have to leave soon..."

Roxas gazed at her, surprised. _She seems reluctant..._

"Wow! That's a very handsome man!" Kairi said in awe, staring wide-eyed at the picture of the blonde, blue-eyed man in Tifa's locket. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Tifa blushed. "That's...a very personal question," she muttered, clearly embarrassed.

"Oh. Sorry!" Kairi winced.

"No, it's okay," Tifa laughed half-heartedly. "No, he isn't my boyfriend. He's..." Tifa's eyes saddened and a distant look came over her face.

The teens all stared at her uncomfortably, knowing that Tifa wasn't too keen on the topic.

"I'm sorry I asked," Kairi apologized again. "People say I'm too nosy for my own good - "

"No, really, it's okay," Tifa smiled weakly. "Well, I guess...I shall be leaving now, ne? It was very nice meeting you guys. See you later."

Tifa whisked Namine's tray away and walked out the door rather quickly. _Too _quickly. Everyone stared at the doorway silently and awkwardly.

"Hello, Roxas...are these your friends?" Namine's quiet and gentle voice broke silence.

"Yup!" Kairi's expression changed from an ashamed one to a cheerful one. "So you're Naminé. Pleased to meet ya!" Kairi held out her hand for Naminé to shake. Naminé held out her hand hesitantly and shook Kairi's, as if this was something new. "My name's Kairi!"

"And I'm Sora." Sora waved his hand.

"I'm glad to meet Roxas' friends..." Naminé said with a shy smile.

"Hm, that's weird...now that I think about it," Sora said slowly, his eyes fixed upon Naminé, "you look a lot like Kairi, except for the blonde hair."

Roxas glanced back and forth at Kairi and Naminé. Now that he thought about it, they _did _look alike in some ways. Maybe that's why the nurse was staring at Kairi strangely.

"What? Really?" Kairi frowned. "I don't think so. Naminé's much prettier."

"Wh-what? N-no, I'm not," Naminé blushed, embarrassed. "I think...you're a lot prettier than I am."

"Haha, I don't think so, but thanks, anyway, Naminé," Kairi laughed.

"Oh, by the way, Naminé, can you go to the festival?" Roxas asked hopefully.

"Well, the owner of this hospital - Mr. Cid - is still deciding, but he said that if I go, one of the nurses will go with me."

"Oh."

Silence.

"It's awkward when it's silent," Sora piped up.

"Yeah. Let's talk about something," Kairi said.

"But what?"

"Uhh...let's talk about ourselves!" Kairi beamed.

"Uh, okay, but you start," Sora shrugged.

**xXxXxXxXx**

For the next thirty minutes, the four exchanged stories. Kairi and Sora mostly contributed, while the other two listened. But then, Sora happened to glance up at the clock on the wall and his eyes widened.

"Oh, shoot...I have to get home to help my mom with supper!"

Kairi glanced at the clock, too. "I should be getting home to finish my homework," she added.

Naminé looked at Roxas, expecting him to say he had to go home, too. But Roxas smiled at her and said, "I won't be leaving any time soon."

"Oh, really?" Naminé smiled back, clearly relieved. She turned back to the other two. "Well, it was...very nice meeting you two. I hope we'll have fun tomorrow."

"Oh! When are we going to meet tomorrow?" Kairi said suddenly.

"And where?" Sora added.

Roxas thought for a while. "Well, we shouldn't meet at the entrance because it'll be too crowded," he said. "Maybe the refreshments area?"

"Okay, sure. And the time?" Kairi asked.

"Uh, what time does it open?"

"4:30. I think it ends at 7."

"Okay, let's meet when it opens. Bring your cell phones just in case we need to contact each other."

"Okay. See you guys later."

Sora and Kairi said their goodbyes and left. A heavy silence was in the air.

"Oh yeah, do you know which nurse is taking you to the festival - that is, if you go?" Roxas asked.

"Oh, yes...Yuna is."

"Yuna? Oh, that's cool."

Silence.

"I think she's going to bring her boyfriend," the blue-eyed girl tried to continue the conversation.

"Oh. What's his name?"

"Tidus."

"Oh."

Another silence.

"Well, this is awkward," Roxas said finally. Naminé giggled a bit. He smiled. _I...like the way she laughs. _

Naminé brushed her bangs away from her eyes, and as she did so, the puffy sleeve of her cotton kimono spread out and revealed her skinny wrist. Roxas noticed that there was a long, distinctive scar on it.

"Hey - that scar..."

"What?" Naminé looked at her wrist. "Oh, this...I got this a long time ago. It's just a cut, no big deal."

Roxas' eyes widened as those words reawakened a memory from his childhood...

_"I'm okay. __**It's just a cut, no big deal." **_

The more time he spent with her, the more he remembered about his childhood friend, Roxas realized. He suddenly came to a horrible realization. Was this why he wanted to visit her? Was it because he was taking advantage of her resemblance to his childhood friend?

"R-Roxas? Are you okay?" Naminé inquired worriedly, noticing the distant look on his face.

"Sorry...kinda zoned out for a minute there." Roxas shook his head. Naminé continued to stare in concern at him. "I'm okay, don't worry."

"Well, okay," Naminé said doubtfully. Roxas glanced at her. Was it just him or did she look more tired than usual? No, not tired...but in pain...

"Are _you _okay?" Roxas asked worriedly.

Naminé struggled to smile. "I'm...I'm just tired, that's all," she whispered, her voice strangely high-pitched and hoarse.

"Oh, that's all? Are you sure?" Roxas pressed. "Your voice sounds kind of weird...Shall I get some water for you?"

"No...it's okay."

"I don't think so," Roxas frowned. "You look like you're in a lot of pain."

"...I am..." Naminé let out a long sigh, and her eyes flickered with sadness. "I'm in pain everyday, Roxas...but I have to bear with it."

Naminé suddenly lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Roxas...do you think..." she said quietly. "W-well...do you think that since I'm in so much pain...I should just ..." Naminé's voice trailed off and she hesitated, as if wondering if she should finish her sentence.

"Should just what?" Roxas said curiously. A second later, he would regret urging her to answer.

"..._die?_"

The single word escaped from her lips so softly that he could barely hear it, but even so, that word made chills run down his spine. _Die. _

Roxas stared at her. This was a side of her he hadn't seen before. She seemed to be the optimistic type, the type to live by the quote 'Live life to the fullest." And now she was asking him if she should just die and leave the world quietly.

"Roxas...should I just die?" Naminé repeated, her voice shaking slightly.

"...Why are you asking me this...?" Roxas managed to muster, finding his voice shaking a bit as well. Being confronted with such a question...he didn't know what to think or say.

Naminé turned away. "I-I...I don't know," she admitted softly. "It's just that...a lot of people have told me that I should die."

_"I...I don't want any more of this. You're too much of a burden for me, Naminé. Paying all of your hospital bills and cleaning up after the mess you make...I just can't take it anymore. Why don't you just die?" _

_"You're so much trouble...you're better off dead." _

_"You should just die so my shoulders won't have to bear the burden of putting up with you." _

"Relatives that adopted me quickly abandoned me because I was too much of a burden to them. They told me that I should just die to save them the trouble. And many other people said that I should die because I'm in a lot of pain..."

_"You're in so much pain. No offense, but you should just die." _

_"Don't take it personally...but you should just die if you're in so much pain." _

_"Die." _

_"Die." _

_**"Die." **_

"I know...that as harsh as they may sound," Naminé's voice began to crack as her eyes misted over with tears, "they are absolutely right. I've done nothing but give everyone trouble...and living isn't doing me any good, either...so why should I keep on living?

"Wh-wh...what _am _I living for, anyway? There's nothing more me in this life...nothing," Naminé continued, her voice overwhelmed with sadness and exhaustion, the tears slowly streaking down her face. "Maybe...I should just _die _and end it all..."

Her eyes widened as Roxas' arms found their way around her small form. Roxas felt her stiffen at first, perhaps from surprise and alarm, but she slowly melted into his embrace, laying her head against his shoulder, the tears falling from her eyes and onto his shirt. He hadn't meant to embrace her so suddenly, but now...it just felt so right.

"Don't say that," he whispered, his voice unusually serious and gentle. "Don't think that your life isn't worth anything. Don't think that you don't deserve to live. Don't think that there's nobody who cares for your existence...because there _are_. What about Yuna, Rikku, and Hayner, and all of those other people you say that you are friendly with at this hospital? And Sora and Kairi...even though you've just met, they're eager to be your friend. And...what about..._me?_"

Naminé's eyes slowly widened at his words. _Roxas..._

"We'd all be...very sad if you were to die, Naminé. It'd be like...a piece of our heart dying with you. You may not know it, but your life is linked to each of those who cares for you. When your life breaks away, it'd feel...very unstable and empty.

"So...don't think you should just die because there's nobody who cares or nothing for you in life. Because if that was true...why are you still here? Why haven't you gone yet? Naminé, it's because...it's not your time to go yet. There's something that you have to stay for...

"There's still so much for you to do. Even though it seems as if there's nothing for you in life...you just have to keep searching. Keep fighting to live so you can find your purpose in life. Keep fighting...and keep smiling."

A soft sob rose from Naminé's throat and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. Never had anyone told her something like this. Never had anyone told her to keep fighting. Never had someone told her that there were people who cared.

"Thank you...Roxas."

Roxas couldn't believe that for a moment, he had become Dear Abby. Those words...they had just popped into his head and he had spoken them smoothly as if he had rehearsed them over in his head for the past week. But he couldn't help feeling proud of the advice he had just given her. Maybe...just maybe, it had helped her become stronger.

"You're welcome," he found himself saying.

A sparkle of light began to shimmer in their hearts, a feeling of hope for the future.

**xXxXxXx**

"Hey, quit pushing."

"Shhh...!"

"Well, I can't see anything...! Your Royal fatness is in the way."

"I am _not _fat - "

"Both of you, shut it!"

"But, Yunie - "

"She started it, first - "

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that both of you should pipe down or else they'll hear us and their romantic moment will be ruined."

Couldn't argue with that.

"This is _so _weird, though...doesn't he already have a girlfriend?"

"What?? He does?"

"Yeahhh. Didn't you see him come with another girl the other day, Yuffie?"

"Oh, yeahh...Well, maybe they're just close friends. Ever considered that possibility, Rikku?" Yuffie's shoulders bobbed in a shrug.

"But Tifa and Rinoa told me that they hugged!" Rikku insisted.

"Well, maybe they're _really _close?" Yuffie offered weakly.

"In any case, I think that Roxas and Namie go great together!" Rikku said excitedly.

"Yeahh!" Yuffie agreed.

"...Guys, don't go playing matchmaker," Yuna spoke up quietly.

"Why not?" Rikku joked.

"Because...for one, you can't just break up Roxas and his girlfriend to hook him up with Naminé. And two, I'm sure...Naminé would be very disappointed if something were to happen to Roxas' relationship with his girlfriend on her behalf. And three...do you remember what I told you...about what Naminé confessed to me earlier today?"

"Oh, yeah..." Rikku's eyes lowered to the floor.

"I thought so. Even though I suspected what she confessed was supposed to be confidential, I told you guys to warn you not to meddle with things that aren't your business. In any case, we have to respect Naminé's wishes even if we do not agree with what she believes."

Yuffie and Rikku nodded silently.

"I...I just want her to be happy, you know," Yuffie said softly. "We _all _do. And I know that boy can make her happy...but you _are _right."

"Yeah...I agree with Yuffie," Rikku murmured.

Yuna nodded. "We...we can't be selfish, though."

"Yeah..."

"All we can do," Yuna continued, gazing through the window, her eyes softening at the sight of the two embracing each other, "is pray. Be happy, Naminé."

**xXxXxXx**

A/N. There's probably going to be a lot of questions after this chapter, like "Why was Hayner acting like he had a stick up his you-know-what?" or "What did Namie tell Yuna?" Stick around and you'll find out! (:

There's going to be more Kairi/Sora later. Eventually, Hayner and Olette will get together, so please bear with the Roxas/Olette stuff for now. :D Also, there will be a little bit of Aerith/Cloud in the end (sorry Zack/Aerith and Cloud/Tifa fans!) Thanks for reading! (:


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